Well, the first round proved to be just as exciting as it was billed up to be! Advantage definitely went to my early-paced colleagues on the whole, with the tight bends proving a menace for dogs to try and overtake. I expect a similar pattern in the Semis with the stronger dogs having less room for error this time around with only 2 qualifying and therefore having less stragglers to pick up in order to qualify. The good news for the Lolly Faithful is that we had two of our antepost dogfolio win in the first round, White Soks Roks and Ding Hero, so we can move into the Semis with confidence. The only dissapointment for us was Aero Gaga who looked well short of his best and he might be looking to hang up his collar soon. So let’s look at the Semis for tomorrow morning and try to help all those bleary-eyed Crayford folk who may have one too many milk-and-waters tonight.

11:23 – 1st Semi-Final

One thing is for sure, there is plenty of pace to the bend in this one! Farloe Elektra missed her kick in the first round but she has the ability to ping and produce early; however her chance is diminished with the impressive Droopys Xavier drawn on her immediate outside. Xavier waited at the sough when on the bunny in his heat (and personally I can’t blame him as I would have done!) and any mistakes like that could be punished, so he is best swerved for me until he shows more focus. Lottes Girl was admirable in her efforts in the heats but this was probably exacerbated by White Soks Roks tiring on the run-in, who will have come on leaps and bounds for that all-the-way success of his in the last heat. He is still the one to be feared in this tournament for me but he may have more of a race on his hands this time with the fast-up Oneco Cool likely to pose a problem around the first circuit. The negative for Cool is that he failed to overtake Bubbly Swallow (which I suppose is excusable) when he tried several times and so his temperament has yet to be proven on these shores for me. With Lode Vanquish unlikely to steal a lead at the first bend like he did in his heat win, I will be with White Soks Roks to come on for his heat win and beat Droopys Xavier in that order.

12:08 – 2nd Semi-Final

This looks a three dog race between Boherna Bridge, Paulines Pride and Ding Hero as it is hard to see Airforce Harlem improving on his run and Buglys Billie and almost certainly Pony Bride likely to be leaving it too late (they both need longer for me). The value must be with our antepost Ding Hero producing a similar effort to his heat performance where he matched antepost favourite Blonde Reagan for the first circuit before powering away from the disappointing Reagan. That form should stand the highest scrutiny because as I mentioned in my antepost dog blog, Reagan on the bunny is a fearful proposition and Hero matched him claw-to-claw. With Boherna Bridge preferring a mid-course he will likely give room for Hero to assert on the rails, with Bridge needing to produce a career best (pretty much like his heat win) to be able to live with Hero and the favourite, Paulines Pride. Pride seemed a bit one-paced in the heats and whilst his one pace is an extremely quick one, over a marathon distance you often need a change of gear at crucial times to break clear of the pack and get on the bunny (a tactic I adopted over the sprint trip). Pride is an uneasy favourite for me here and if he gets on the bunny he is likely to prove too strong, but if he turns behind either the 1 or 2 dog, then it is game on! Hero to beat Pride for me.

12:57 – 3rd Semi-Final

The weakest looking Semi on paper has produced a dream draw for the comfortable outright favourite, Bubbly Swallow, and quotes of about 4/7 are about right for her chances here. Ballymac Swift is normally tardy over the first circuit and can only hope to get dragged by the jolly, whilst Eden Rumble decided she fancied a jog for the first lap in the heats: I almost forgot she was in the race she was that far back! Whilst she produced a tremendous finish (presumably with all of that conserved energy after her lap of jogging), that will almost certainly be punished by a flying Swallow. Freedom Cache caught the eye for me and I’ve been trying to get my paws into his career and what has gone wrong for him. A dog full of potential and pace, he has never really found a trip, but he ran well in his heat and can also utilise his draw next to the aforementioned Rumble. King Lauchlan ran out of legs (I’m pretty sure he started with 4) in the slowest of the heats and that sort of effort will not be able to produce a qualifying performance against these types. Crinkill Jewel ran OK in her heat but made little impression on the leader and seemed happy to follow him round. It will be Bubbly Swallow to beat Freedom Cache for me, probably by a fair distance.

So there we are, a dog’s thoughts on the Semis which should give us further clues for an inevitably impressive final, whoever qualifies. I have one recommendation for the Lolly Faithful in Ding Hero (1 doggie treat @ 5/1) as he looks overpriced but the other two Semis look about right to me. Let’s hope Soks meets him in the final!

Enjoy the racing,

Jimmy