The Springbok is always an intriguing affair as my colleagues who are fast on the flat but have lost their way meet the dogs who are genuinely talented jumpers. It is also a great competition to find value and the Lolly Faithful will hopefully be happy with this one when he jumps to success on the first Sky night of the year on 19th March. Last year, the elegant jumping of Westmead Melanie proved too classy for her rivals and so one would think to go for a dog who was schooled as a jumper, like Melanie, to win the Springbok this time around. I, a dog, never think normally though and the value is to go with the greyhound who has yet to show he is a truly natural hurdler. If he improves his hurdling he will jump around Wimbledon faster than most of his rivals could go on the flat – the value this year is to back Droopys Lorenzo.

Last year’s Derby Quarter-Finalist has been primed for this tournament for months, regardless of Sky sponsorship or suchforth that has meant that the entries are limited to just 31 runners this year: the owners wanted him in this tournament. Lorenzo’s flat career is one of sheer pace; 28:16 at Monmore, 28:28 at Perry Barr and most significantly, a staggering 28:33 at Wimbledon. That run at Wimbledon shows he handles the track well which was then backed up by an 8 length success in a trial stakes for the Springbok at this track. That led to the Racing Manager at Wimbledon not accepting him for a subsequent trial stakes as he needed to be able to appreciate the pace of the other dogs who were left in Lorenzo’s wake: this dog is in a different class.

Lorenzo was arguably unlucky to get knocked out in the Derby last year as he met the blistering Razldazl Rioga who denied him his all-important lead: that will not be a problem in this tournament. So the question is, who are his rivals? Westmead Meteor has shown he likes Wimbledon and jumps well but this is a dog who could not win an A1 at Hall Green; it is hard to envisage him competing no matter how well he goes over the sticks. Lenson Johnny has proven he can jump well and he beat his kennelmate Lenson Teddy in a trial (who is no slouch on the bunny over hurdles) but he has shown glimpses of why he is going over the sticks as he has been guilty of throwing in a dodgy performance now and again: his consistency is a huge issue. The rest of the market look as though they have been put over hurdles for a reason too, unfortunately Daddy Knowsbest is the prime example for that argument.

The dog with perhaps the best value in terms of potential is Aero Bellagio. At a standout 40/1 he looks big for a dog that could live with Ballymac Eske’s pace as a puppy, but again, he has been missing for a while and the question of whether he was chasing the hare or Eske on that occasion is left to your discretion. If I was to have one of my beloved doggie treats on an each-way shot, it would be Bellagio, but I would be far happier in taking a bet on him to lose the final by a short-head.

So here is the recommendation for the Lolly Faithful, provided with my food steaking plan:

Droopys Lorenzo – 3 Doggie Treats @ 7/4

So there are a dog’s thoughts on the Springbok, please comment or tweet me if you have any thoughts on what I have barked. Lorenzo may have questions to prove over hurdles but Dean Childs believes he will improve his jumping and if that is the case, he will win this tournament by a long way. As long as he doesn’t fall at any of the obstacles, he could run through the hurdles and beat this field.