Well, one of the few times I get off the sofa was to go for a walk today and I got absolutely drenched so I hope this has not affected the track bias at Monmore! Hoping for a sunny afternoon in Wolverhampton and if so then it should be a great afternoon’s racing with the focus being on the Gold Cup – here are a dog’s thoughts on the Semi-Finals:

3.48 – 1st Semi-Final

The question in this race was how much can you read into the form of Blazing Ruso’s second behind a scintillating display of pace from Taylors Sky in the heats; my verdict is that it is to be hugely respected and Ruso could lead this and show the form that led him to a puppy competition here over C&D. Although he is respected, his trapping consistency is a problem and with track-specialist Frankbrunosbro on his inside he may come into traffic problems at the first bend. This will play into the hands of a nice sort in Fridays Daryl who has been known to miss the break (even I missed it in my career, maybe just the once!) but is showing great early round this venue and has a clear run to the bend with tardy trappers Fridays Shea and Bit View Micko inside him; the verdict is that he could be away-and-gone before Ruso can get into stride.

4.08 – 2nd Semi-Final

Regular readers of this dog blog will know that Jimmy likes a bit of value, especially from an early-paced type and I think I have got my paws on some here. Farloe Iceman is the favourite based on his puppy form, brother’s near-Derby heroics and the fact he might strip fitter having shown his early has come back to him in the first round; the problem is that he has only won once this year (back in February) in an injury-hit season and has not won convincingly in all-aged company since his impressive successes as a puppy last August at Hove so I am concerned about his progression from a promising pup to a class act. Next to him is Taylors Cruise who has seemingly changed his running style since winning the Scottish Derby more than a year ago from front-running to back-running and he has not been as successful since this new adopted strategy. Those two will also have to live with Daddy Knowsbest who is undoubtedly blessed with pace but my colleague seems to get distracted from the hare at times and is definitely one who likes to get involved in some hustle and bustle so when he dives for the rails, it could be trouble for the inside dogs! Therefore, the value is to stick with a selection that ran well in defeat for the dog blog last time and the recommendation is Milestone Apache to lead the hugely disappointing Mags Gamble (who was lucky to qualify having completely missed the break) and confirm that although he is a short-runner, he is also a dog with a lot of heart who can repel all challengers, just!

4.27 – 3rd Semi-Final

A dog who has had more comebacks than Audley Harrison, but is far classier and more spirited than the delusional British heavyweight, is Taylors Sky who was a joy to watch in the first round as he was through the whole competition last year: he loves it round here. He has his favourite red box (I might put a few doggie treats on Sky being drawn in trap 1 in future tournaments!) and can lead up the unproven Alien Planet and shrug off the early-paced Little Gent at the first bend. There is no doubt that Silverview Perky is a supremely talented superbitch, but us dogs just seem to have the better of her and her appalling start in the first round is ill-advised for her as she will need to be at the very top of her game to dethrone Sky as the king of Monmore – even that might not be enough.

Supporting Card

The other tournaments for the August Festival begin today and the inclusion of Farloe Warhawk in the Puppy competition, who is now joint antepost favourite for the Derby next year, should be a great spectacle for those in the Midlands over the next week as it is hard to see him not strolling this. Bittles Bar is highly-rated by the bookies but has not quite shown why yet, Free Tornado is interesting after some good times at Shelbourne but I might break one of my dog bones in half and have an each-way tickle on Kinloch Tiger (who is unbeaten in graded competition round here) and showed the guts and determination required to pull off his name when beating the strong Droopys Xavier at Hove (who I think would be shorter than 16/1 for this competition).

Elsewhere, I woke up this morning in my kennel to read antepost quotes of 7/1 on Mark My Words in the 630m tournament; that seemed huge to me and I would have ran down to the bookies if it wasn’t further than my optimum 305m. I then logged on to find he had been hammered into 9/2 which is a much more realistic reflection of his chances and I decided against placing any of my beloved treats on the tournament antepost. I do, however like the chances of Liscahane Razl in the last heat who is (you guessed it!) an early-paced bitch who has a great draw to work from with the short run to the bend favouring the inside traps and can hold off the late challenge of highly-tried Meadow Bank Owl.

The 416m tournament always gets my juices flowing as it is often a question of the best trapper wins! The quirky very short-distance to the bend over this trip at Monmore is fascinating and the inclusion of Lil Risky in the tournament (my arch nemesis who seems to be flying in my absence, coincidence?) means that if he brings his trapping boots this should be a walk in the park to him. He has not had a trial out of the boxes though and Proud Patsy is a bitch who loves these traps on her home-turf and could just spring a surprise on my old rival. The recommendation antepost is an each-way dabble on Tuttles Maldini who is 7 from 9 over the C&D and with his running style will avoid Lil Risky if they meet in the final and should at least give Wallis’ dog a race. Look out for my colleague Bower William in Maldini’s heat as he has shown glimpses of being a likeable sort and could be one to note if he gets it right at the traps.

So there you are, a dog’s guide to the Monmore August Festival and as ever, please tweet me if you have any comments.

Enjoy the racing,

Jimmy