With the fantastic performance of You Mind Me to land the Oxford Pall Mall over 450m, it strikes me that this is not an isolated incident where a genuine sprinter is underrated over 4 bends.  Other top class sprinters that I used to oppose such as Lil Risky, Swabys Tony and even Fifis Rocket before them have shown they can win at the highest level over the standard distance and I feel it is no coincidence that they do so.

I coin the phrase “Staying Sprinter” to describe these greyhounds as it is all too often the case when a fast-out dog is stepped down in trip, they are then considered incapable of staying the full four bends.  With the dearth of prize-money in sprinting opens, owners and trainers alike are having to enter their genuine sprinters into four-bend affairs to pay the bills but this is often not in vain.  Indeed, it paid off for You Mind Me (one of the most feared two-bend performers in the country) in the Pall Mall and whilst some skeptics may argue that it is a short four-bends at Oxford, his winning performances in the First and Second Rounds of the English Derby dispel the myth that he cannot stay the normal 480m trip.  He is not alone in this regard, however, with Fifis Rocket (a supreme sprinter of yesteryear) utilising his blistering early-speed to reach the Semi-Finals of the Derby just a year ago: this is the rise of the staying sprinter.

Yet these performances, and there are many more examples, should not be considered flukes and rather that they should be capitalised upon when assessing antepost markets and race make-ups with sprinters included.  The fact of the matter is that greyhounds are schooled over four-bends as puppies and thus the very top-class sprinters are more than likely to be able to stay the standard distance to a sufficient level.  It was a surprise to many how well You Mind Me and Fifis Rocket ran in their respective Derbies, but this shock could have been avoided if taking the whole of the greyhound’s career into context, particularly in Fifis Rocket’s case.  Rocket (when known as King Lee) was antepost favourite for the 2010 English Derby for a long period prior to the tournament, as he had shown the capability of just-about staying the 480m distance.  He failed to fulfil this potential that year, but this should not have meant that he should be completely disregarded over four-bends the subsequent year when he came ever-so-close to making the final: people write-off sprinters’ staying capabilities all too frequently.

So how can we use this revelation to benefit our analysis of races involving sprinters?  Considering these trends, it should have come as no surprise when Lil Risky (an all-too-familiar rival of my own) won his heat of the Classic at Sunderland over 450m when stepping back up in trip, but I feel he is still being neglected in the antepost markets for the tournament.  At a standout 8/1 he seems to represent far much better value than the 4/1 of market leader Droopys Loner.  Loner, a scintillating early-paced bitch, has set the greyhound world alight with her stunning front-running performances but yet when she met a genuine sprinter (the aforementioned You Mind Me) in the Pall Mall, he led her and then her challenge for the competition was over.  While one could argue that she uncharacteristically missed the break, who is to say that Lil Risky will not lead her if they meet later in the tournament?  If that eventuality happens, Loner’s ability to come from behind is unfortunately questionable and so she may be faced with another agonising loss in a major tournament.

So is greyhound racing that easy? When a sprinter steps up in trip you back them because they are in all probability likely to lead.  Of course not.  Yet the many connotations involved in a race mean that sprinters are often underrated due to the myth that they cannot stay the distance.  I agree that some sprinters genuinely do not stay, but finding a sprinter that just-about does could be very lucrative when considering four-bend tournaments in the future: the game is a lot easier when you’re on the bunny in the front, trust me!

Jimmy