The Select Stakes is always a fascinating contest and whilst the quality in depth of this year’s field is questionable, it has certainly provided for an intriguing race for my colleagues. The Select Stayers is even more intriguing with the absence of Fear Emoski perhaps being the only notable absentee from the top stayers and potential stayers in the country. The rest of the card has a feel of post-Derby and post-Classic syndrome with it being competitive, but without some of the names of my colleagues that you would expect on a Sky card. As I lie here on the sofa, I am finding it hard to put my paws on some value for the Lolly Faithful but as ever, I think I have unearthed a couple of bets after digging a little deeper into the form. Here are my thoughts on the racing:

19:34 – Puppy

As ever with my younger colleagues, the little tykes can throw in a strange performance now and again and it is better to look at their overall form rather than one-off blips. Therefore, I am taking a chance that Russanda Duke was just becoming acclimatised to the track on his last time out as he completely missed the break and allowed Caribbean Rich to cruise into an unassailable lead. He ran OK after his sluggish start and with a change of traps he can confirm his Sheffield form over Ballymac Murph where he was led by Draper’s charge before powering past round the final bends. If he can turn handier to the pace than his last effort then he will not be stopping and whilst Bower Stone is respected for his flying time for a youngster, his form has not been consistent since. The outside 3 look out of their depth.

19:49 – Standard

The first price that has got me hot under the collar for tonight’s racing (and that is not just because of this ridiculous heat!) is the 7/2 on Caribbean Rich stealing a lead and proving too fast to rein in. He has a good draw next to Head Iton Eoin and Glenpadden Bolt who are not blessed with scintillating early, and Bob Hall’s charge gets jealous of other colleagues trying to catch his bunny when he is in the lead: he can do so here. The Newcastle graded strength is to be hugely respected and thus Hadrians Wall might be a serious dog, but his effort at Shawfield was very uninspiring and so he has yet to prove he travels well. Sinbad is a very likeable and progressive type who looks set to be stepped up in distance for his career, but Rich has much the better profile in terms of overall form. Romeo Hi Rumble will be coming from miles back, possibly his kennel.

20:04 – Bitches

A competitive bitches race is something I like to see and we have one here. The class act in the field is Silverview Pinky who is not as good as her now-retired superstar sister Perky was, but she is good enough to win a race of this nature. Express Flame rates the danger but she is too inconsistent to be trusted at small odds and like with most bitches I have known, it is hard to know what she is really thinking. Pinky beat Flame comfortably at Coventry at the start of the month and her knowledge of Nottingham (through it being Lister’s “home” track) should maintain that formline here. Teena Marina is running well but whether she is of the class of Pinky is questionable for me.

20:19 – Stayers

Ballyard Buddy was a close second in the Select Stayers here last year and he can make amends for that defeat at a track that suits his style. There is not the class of Tynwald Tom in this race that beat him last year and the fact that Buddy started his impressive, bullish career here is a positive too: he knows the track. Bubbly Swallow has always struck me as a bitch without a distance and she will have the task of fending off Ballymac Chosen who will appreciate his draw in two. Droopys Diop can utilise a good draw to run his usual honest race, but Buddy’s grinding power will be too much for these I suspect.

20:34 – 480m

Perhaps one of the main disappointments of the Derby, Lemon Pluto, has certainly not disappointed since by trouncing his rivals in a supporting race on the Derby Final card and then winning a competitive tournament at Monmore. 480m is as far as he wants but he is in an all-conquering, confident mood at the moment and it will take a good dog to beat him. He meets some useful rivals here in Cu Na Mianta and Fermoy Henry but they lack that air of authority that Pluto imposes on his rivals and they could be dealt a lesson here today. A dog that certainly needs no lessons (well maybe he could learn from me!) is Mags Gamble who enjoyed a remarkable campaign last year but is beginning to show that he is not quite the force of old and whilst the old-timer is afforded plenty of respect, the new dog on the block Pluto can lead all the way here.

20:49 – 305m

Nottingham is a great sprinting track (I would know!) and another Lister powerhouse, Boher Chieftain, can add a win to his frustrating career. Throughout his working life he has shown signs of brilliant pace and aptitude but he has struggled with injuries and therefore his form has been too inconsistent for a dog with his ability. Whilst Wajas Trump is running well, if Chieftain is feeling fit, he can show why he was considered a Derby dog earlier in his career.

21:04 – 720m

One of the stars of Team Lolly in the Derby, and the genuinely entertaining superstar that is Farloe Tango, can show why he is feared in any race he enters, over any distance, against any dog. His pace is truly remarkable. The bark around the kennels is that he is a character off the track as well as on it and his antics in racing are fascinating to watch; the one thing that cannot be disputed though is that he is a winner and wants to be leader of the pack! He infamously lost here at 1/8 but that was a nasty fall that day and he has subsequently performed oddly at the track: us dogs don’t forget you know! Yet, his pace to nearly catch the confirmed stayer, Bouncy Bocko, on Derby final night will live long in the memory of humans and dogs alike as he was in a hopeless position after trouble in running, before producing one of the most remarkable turns of foot that I can remember from watching on the sofa since my retirement. There is no doubt that this is a high quality field and the fact that Musical Gaga is likely to lead will mean that if Tango catches her, it will surely be the performance of the year: I think he will. Calzaghe Lilly is on fire at the moment and will be swooping round the outside but I think in a match race over this distance you would favour Gaga, and Gaga with a good draw can lead so it is hard to envisage Lilly back-running her. Dural Bound has a very good draw but whether he can live with this surely ferocious pace over the staying distance, is questionable, and he may be too far back to have an impact. Gaga will not be stopping but it would take a train carrying a brick wall on the front of it to stop Tango. This should be a spectacle.

21:19 – Select Stakes

Another star of Team Lolly who came oh-so-close to landing the each-way bet for a healthy portion of doggie treats (I’m sure treats are healthy, they certainly taste like they are!), is Holdem Spy and he can overcome a tough draw to gun down these rivals down the back straight. The revelation that Spy has the best name in the world has furthered my liking for him and plans to go to Shelbourne for the Irish Derby are surely well-advised with the track likely to suit his devastating pace down the back. He would be a recommendation if he were not in 4 as he has proven he can catch Hather George (just!) which is a ridiculously impressive formline with George winning over 660m from the front, and he can at least turn handy to Screen Critic and avenge for the latter’s short-head defeat of him into 4th in the Derby Semi-Final. Daddyknowsbest was a strange selection in my opinion as he was a very fast puppy but failed to seriously develop into a top class dog; yet I suppose his track record and undefeated competition at Poole is the merit for his inclusion. Droopys Pride has shown he likes the track but he is running against genuine Derby dogs here with Derby 2nd, Airlie Impact, being suited to the track but perhaps not his draw as he is desperate to get back in his beloved stripes. He can run on late but by then Jimmy may be long gone. Whoever gets the run of the wide dogs wins this for me, and Spy’s trackcraft and pace down the back can get him into a winning position. Listen for the roars from the humans!

Two recommendations for the Lolly Faithful then:

19:49 – Caribbean Rich – 1 doggie treat @ 7/2

20:34 – Lemon Pluto – 1 piece of bread at Evs

So there are my thoughts on the proceedings. As ever, please comment or tweet if you have any thoughts yourself on my opinions and I promise to bark back at you as fast as Spy runs the back straight. Two stars of the Derby for Team Lolly were desperately unlucky to not make it to the final (in my clearly biased opinion!) but they can finish the card tonight by winning the Select Stayers and Stakes. Go get them boys!

Enjoy the racing,

Jimmy

The Category One tournament begins tonight with the feeling that it is certainly not the best field ever assembled for this prestigious tournament at Hove. Last year, the Lolly Faithful were oh-so-close to having an antepost winner as Loughteen Blanco was collared on the line by the brilliantly game Westmead Maldini, and a similar approach should yield success in picking a winner this time round. The fact that Derby 2nd Airlie Impact was unplaced in that race a year ago shows the quality of the field that year and whilst Blanco returns this year, it is hard to suggest he is quite the same dog that had a fantastic 2012. The approach last year was to go against the conventional wisdom that a galloping track like Hove requires a powerful dog and instead, find value in an early-paced merchant who may steal a lead in the final and then not be for catching: Blanco nearly did it last year!

The nature of Hove means that the market is dominated by strong sorts such as Teejays Bluehawk, Droopys Ed Moses and Glenpadden Post but their value is questionable due to the potential of not getting a clear run meaning their value at under 10/1 is questionable. All 3 of these have the potential to be interesting over 6 bends come the St. Leger but for now, they are attempting to run through fields to progress in tournaments over 4 bends. Bluehawk is an admirable sort who will need no second invitation if given racing room, but as a railer he could be forced to run through several dogs and whilst his trackcraft is decent, it does not strike me as exceptional and he capitalises on gaps rather than finding them for me. Droopys Ed Moses is a mercurial dog who is often left way behind in the race before producing a blistering turn of foot from the 3rd bend; he can win a race from anywhere but his appeal is limited due to his tendency to be completely left behind for most of the race and so the winner may have got away. Glenpadden Post was a serious consideration antepost as his Derby Plate win was hugely impressive for his style and decision making when going on the outside round the 4th bend when given the opportunity. Yet, Barrie Draper’s dogs have been hit-and-miss during the Derby and subsequently (Farloe Barracuda was hugely disappointing last night) and the long journey down to Hove is not ideal for any dog, no matter how well-behaved we are we get hot in the van in this heat! Therefore, he is a realistic contender but the market has him placed rightly around the 8/1 mark.

So with the strong dogs being taken on, we need an early-paced dog who is going to set the others a benchmark to aim at. Due to the popularity of strong-running dogs going for this tournament, the early-pace is normally scarce in races which is another reason for picking a fast-away dog as they will more than likely have good draws throughout. Exocet has a lofty reputation and is capable of leading on his day but he makes extremely limited appeal at his odds due to the fact it looks to me that he has not quite settled into the English way of life as of yet. Bridge Honcho is a lightly-raced, top quality dog who can beat anything on his day round here but his fragility is a concern and whilst if he stays fit he could walk this tournament, at 8/1 he offers no value due to his injury-plagued career.

That leaves us with a dog who has been in sparkling form round the Course and Distance over the past few weeks and could turn into a superb performer for Chris Allsopps’ team: Express Master is the pick. He had the kennels barking when he flew round Monmore in trials of 28:22 and 28:19 showing his undoubted pace which was then followed up by two scintilatting wins at Hove. He beat the aforementioned Droopys Ed Moses comfortably on his second win which shows he is going to set a serious target for the others to aim at in this competition and his short-head defeat by Bridge Honcho is by no means a disgrace as I stated earlier: Bridge Honcho is a class act. Master is a railer but he has proven he can come out of anything as wide as 4 (which he runs from tonight) and he has enough early to lead virtually any of the railers in this tournament, so issues at the first bend should not be of huge concern. Of course, his consistency is questionable with only 3 career starts in England but his two trials at Monmore show that he will consistently run a similar sort of race and if he can reproduce 3 29:60 times around Hove, he will take all of the beating in this tournament. Allsopp speaks very highly of his new worker and his lack of experience is more than factored into his price of 8/1 considering his consistent early pace.

So one recommendation for the Lolly Faithful then:

Express Master – 1 piece of bread broken in half @ 8/1

So there are my thoughts on the Sussex Cup. As ever please tweet or comment if you have anything to say about my opinions and I promise I will bark back at you despite my consistent panting in this heat: I thought I lived in England! Express Master can go one better for us this year and lead his colleagues over the winning line, despite the efforts of the stronger dogs trying to claw him back.

Enjoy the racing,

Jimmy