Well, what a great card we have tonight if my old nemesis Lil Risky can only go to Monmore tonight as a reserve! Admittedly if I was ever asked to be a reserve I’d have gone and hid in my bed in the kennels but surely this was a mistake by the RM at Monmore; if not I am literally dogfounded. Anyway, I promise not to mention his omission anymore (well maybe once!) in this dog blog and more importantly, try and find some winners for the Lolly faithful this evening. Here are my thoughts on the racing:

19:40 – 480m

Just when I had made my peace with the RM he throws in this conundrum to kick start the night with! A very intriguing puppy race with the very promising, unbeaten ex-Irish import Melodys Midnight taking his first look at the track; as a puppy the fact he has not been round is of extreme concern and he is best swerved on this occassion. Lemon Pluto is shaping into a decent sort but his litter-brother is struggling to get his head in-front in graded class at Hall Green and so he looks plenty short enough at the prices (again he has not had a sighter of the Wolverhampton circuit). A dog that knows this track well and is on a four-time at his home track is Sidelight who looks far too overpriced given his scintillating form in graded fare. Of course, it is a step up for him tonight and he struggled on his travels but he beat Final McCoy round here in his last race (who bolted clear to win a festival dogs tournament against some very useful sorts earlier in the year) and that scalp for Sidelight looks like it could kickstart his open racing career tonight.

20:00 – 416m

This peculiar distance is all about the trapping as the boxes are virtually on the bend and the dog who leads up normally poaches a winning advantage. I, of course, would have walked this contest and so would Lil Risky (there’s my one mention!) but the dog fancied to lead them up and make-all is the well-drawn Fridays Dynamo. He has shown good two-bend speed recently and if he breaks he should have a clear run round the first two bends. Black Silver knows this C&D well but has only 1 win in his last 11 starts so is not one to have confidence in, even if he looks well-drawn being in red and next to the mid-moving Gilbeyhall Ned. Ned is not out of this either if he pings from an unfamiliar location but Fridays Dynamo would have probably given Lil Risky a race (oh dear that’s two!) and should beat these.

20:15 – 480m

Derby second Farloe Ironman is struggling to reproduce that form and having not had a look at the track, is worth taking on with the locally trained Whittle Murtagh. Ironman undoubtedly has great early but so does Kim Billingham’s charge and just that extra little bit of course knowledge could sway it in favour of Murtagh tonight. Another aspect to factor in is that all 5 of the inside dogs will be diving for the rails here so trap 1 is perhaps the best place to be if there is scrimmaging and he manages to hold his pitch. Graigues Orchard is poorly drawn and has a bad performance in him and Fifis Legend thrives in lesser classes to this.

20:35 – 684m

This race looks more certain than me getting incredibly excited when the postman delivers the mail (nothing’s ever for me sadly). Ballyard Buddy is the St. Leger favourite and for good reason following his last exertions in front of the Sky cameras with a superb battling performance and should celebrate his sixth win in a row with a less demanding assignment here. Farloe Elektra (litter-sister to Farloe Ironman) undoubtedly has pace and could slip clear but Buddy is a very powerful dog who looks as though he could chase down anything over this trip at the moment. Balmi Blue definitely gets the trip but seems to lack gears and Bower Hawk is respected although his age is starting to show.

20:50 – 480m

It’s a good job that I can go back and edit my dog blog as if I thought the last was an absolute certainty, this looks even moreso (insert witty postman anecdote here). The scintillating early-pace of Droopys Loner is a joy to watch and with the withdrawal of Rockburst Pearl, Loner can sprint clear of these and not be for catching. Sharies Miller flew from the traps in the heats which she will need to repeat but even that was not good enough as Loner extended a huge lead down the back-straight. Admittedly, Miller stayed on gamely to only lose by 3/4 length but Loner is super-consistent and at least a repeat of her victory margin in the heats looks the call here.

21:10 – 630m

This final looks a lot harder to call with cases to be made for all the runners. These traps are on the other side of the track to the 416m boxes but they are still close to the bend and trapping for these six-benders is quite pivotal in many of these affairs. It is an intriguing puzzle to find a six-bender who traps and most of these seem to have similar sort of pace over the first two bends so it is worth siding with the best drawn of the dogs here in Granard Bound. Ballymac Wander has more scope than these but could be squeezed as Mark My Words can ping from this red box (as he did in the August Festival Stayers over C&D) and Ding Hero is likely to turn left from the orange box which could hinder Wander’s ability to lead. The fact Wander lost to Coolavanny Fairy who is a decent bitch on the bunny over 575m at Romford but nothing to write home about (if you did write about her could you send it to me please?) shows she is vulnerable. Granard is Bound to gain an early advantage here (I write all my own material if you were wondering!) and he could just about hold on against these stronger types. This should be fascinating.

21:25 – 480m

Newinn Rocket is starting to find his paws again after a dip in form following his Puppy Derby success over C&D but his record from the red box is one that I’m sure he howls in horror about. Aero Tobias is often caught sleeping in the boxes (maybe there’s a mini-sofa in there) which could prove his downfall but one dog that has caught the eye over recent weeks is Tyrur Willyjoe. He came from Ireland with some useful form on the Emerald Isle but took a few races to get settled into the climate of the er-glorious British summer, but now seems to have realised the game doesn’t change just because he’s in a different country. He showed good early in the heats and if Tobias is caught snoring and Rocket fails to shake-off his trap one hoodoo, Willyjoe can prove too much out wide.

21:45 – 835m

The finale of the night has the feel that it will be one to savour with these marathon performers beating one and another in different formations each time they go to the boxes! There is no doubt that if the pace is ferocious as they battle out in front this would pave the way for a strong-running sort such as Storm Pockets and that very well might be the case, but the value (and dogs and humans alike enjoy a bit of value!) is to side with the ever-game, honest Aero Gaga. He is always worth a doggie treat as he is a tremendously consistent sort who produces valiant performances time and again in front of the Sky cameras and he should turn handy enough to Blonde Reagan and prove too strong for him once in contention. Of course, Reagan’s time was the fastest of the round but the fact Wallis has admitted he “has to lead” is a worry with Pantone Ava drawn next to him, and if she can bustle him up a bit, Gaga will have the run of the rails and will attempt to hold off Pockets when her inevitable challenge comes. He did just that in the Ted Hegarty Marathon last Decemeber in Ireland and a similar scenario could pan out tonight: he just looks too big! Lottes Girl is of course a danger but if anyone could predict what she is likely to do in a race then I’m sure they could make a claim to be the next Dr Doolittle!

So there are a dog’s thoughts on the racing tonight and as ever, please comment or tweet me (or even better send me a letter!) if you agree or disagree with a canine’s perspective. Two of the races look a certainty to me but that is almost never the case in greyhound racing (unless I was running of course) and the only certainty about dogs at the moment is that I will receive no letters from my beloved postman tomorrow. Sad times I know but I’m sure I’ll get over it in time.

I’m over it.

Enjoy the racing,

Jimmy