A fascinating, quality field of my colleagues line-up at Crayford for the Golden Jacket this year and it should be a tournament to savour. Before I learned how to type with my paws, followers of my recommendations will remember we had Blue Bee last year at 20/1 to win this Category One event and a similar approach to this year’s competition should bring dividends for the Lolly Faithful.

So, what does it take to win the Jacket? Crayford is one of the tightest tracks in the UK and passing dogs (around the bends especially) is particularly tough: being in the lead is the strategy (as it was for my career). Although ran over a marathon distance, it is almost essential that a dog has enough early to get to a prominent position by the first bend to avoid scrimmaging that will almost certainly lead to failure. This circuit is like the Monaco Formula 1 track that these humans drive their non-roadworthy vehicles around: you cannot overtake. As we saw with the final last year, Blue Bee made the bend and was brave enough to drive into the traffic to lead and then it was game over for her rivals: we need a similar sort for this year.

Of the main protagonists, Blonde Reagan has just about assumed favouritism around the 6/1 mark which is fully deserved for the Marathon and Stayer of the Year. He is imperious in front and fits the bill for the Jacket in that sense. If he traps out in each round, it is hard to envisage a dog in either England or Ireland overtaking him over 6 or 8 bends, especially around Crayford where it is so tight. That is the problem though, “if”. Mark Wallis admitted himself that “he is a dog that needs to lead” and that seems to be a shrewd assessment from the Trainer of the Year as we saw when Reagan missed the break in the Monmore Festival and ran a disappointing last (having been sent off odds-on). Therefore, 6/1 seems about the right price to me as backers will almost certainly be relying on him to trap three times in a row: which is about what those odds represent.

The others at the fore of the market that I’ve been getting my paws into are Bubbly Swallow and Paulines Pride. Swallow is a fast bitch (and believe me, I’m a fan of that) but she has always struck me as a bitch without a distance. She has early (a tick for the Crayford column) and can stay but she looked ill-at-ease around this circuit last year and missed the break twice, which proved her downfall in the Semis. There is no doubt she has improved over the past year and has ran creditably, but she offers little value at 7/1 for a bitch that has yet to show the consistency and determination to win a Category One tournament. The price on Paulines Pride is arguably worse and will certainly be getting none of my beloved doggie treats. He has ran the track brilliantly recently with two eye-catching times but this tournament is a whole different kettle of fish to those races (sorry, briefly distracted about the thought of eating fish…). His other form is unremarkable, including barely holding on against Navarone who was an expensive purchase (reportedly £10,000) but struggled to compete in graded fare at Hall Green (which is a modest standard) before being moved after his former trainer, Chris Kyme, retired. Therefore, Pride has yet to prove he is anywhere near up to the standard of these colleagues and whilst he may prove me wrong, the Lolly Faithful know that I rarely get it that far off (well, that’s what I tell myself anyway!).

Therefore, step forward the best value in the tournament: White Soks Roks. He looks cracking value for a dog who has early, stays and has beaten top-class opponents in Ireland and has thus proved his credentials. People who follow me on Twitter will know that I have been keeping a close eye on Soks (apart from at dinner time when I watch the bowls religiously) and his progress after being moved over here temporarily. He has barked to me that he is here for “UK Domination” and the price of 8/1 is too good to ignore on a dog with so much confidence after his Night of the Stars success. The form-lines of “Faw” (fast-away) in Ireland on a consistent basis show that he can ping and he has beaten the marathon star in Ireland, Future Boy, convincingly over a similar distance which is form that should be taken seriously. Soks’ trial over 4 bends was uninspiring having been beaten by Ballymac Swift (who is tardy for the first four bends – her effort in the Ted Hegarty Marathon showed that) but a dog can be forgiven for one bad trial in a new country at a new track; he has had time to settle now and should be well-up for this tournament.

As for the rest of the field, such is the quality at the top of the market it is hard to envisage any major shocks, but there is still value in breaking a doggie treat in half and going each-way on a couple of railers. This is because the top of the market is loaded with wide-runners and so if they all progress as expected, it is likely that they could cause trouble for each other. Therefore, Bubbly Swallow has had her backers for that reason, but there is far more value in siding with two dogs further out in the betting: Ding Hero and Aero Gaga. Hero has yet to run round this track which is a huge concern but if he can qualify from what looks like a tough heat with pace next to him (in Farloe Elektra) and of course the aforementioned Blonde Reagan (who is very well-drawn), Hero is too big at 33/1 in this tournament. He adjusts to new tracks well, is versatile and dependable to give his all and is a colleague that has great early when he times his break well (I will be having barks with him on improving his consistency). Aero Gaga is too big at 33/1 too. Whilst he is not the force of old that won the Ted Hegarty Marathon just over a year ago, he still has enough pace to be a threat in this tournament over this 714m trip. Over the past year he has shown signs that he would relish a shorter trip than the long marathons that he used to thrive on (I think any marathon is long by the way, it’s ridiculous!) so this trip at Crayford should be ideal and he is a tight railer who has enough early to avoid traffic problems. He has also drawn a soft looking heat with the dogs either side of him (Eden Rumble and Carden Twilight) both possessing pace but lacking in quality against dogs with real class, like Aero Gaga. Peggys Style is the main danger in this heat but her back-running style is not ideal to Crayford and I can envisage Gaga picking up a cheap lead in the heat and thus progressing to a harder challenge in the next round: which he is more than capable of dealing with.

Here are the recommendations for the loyal Lolly Faithful then:

White Soks Roks (2 doggie treats @ 8/1)
Ding Hero (1 dog bone broken in half @ 33/1)
Aero Gaga (1/2 a chewstick @ 33/1)

So there we are, as ever if you have any opinions on the dog blog then please tweet or comment and I’ll get back to you provided I’m not having a nap or looking for squirrels on my walk. It should be a fantastic tournament and it would be remiss of me not to conclude this dog blog by saying: Happy Birthday Young Soks!

P.S. Please save the celebrating for after your victory in this tournament.