Well, this looks a fantastic night in front of the Sky cameras and it could end up being a memorable one for the Lolly Faithful as we have antepost runners in two of the finals this evening. The main attraction of the night, however, has to be the return of Greyhound of the Year Farloe Tango who runs in the 19:34. He really is the star of our sport at the moment and it is worth going to Newcastle this evening just to see this living legend run live. I would love to go but unfortunately I would get mobbed by pawprint hunters! Apart from that, we have a good card from Newcastle and as ever, it is imperative to remember that this track has some of the strongest local runners in the country: ignore them at your peril! It should be a fascinating evening and as ever, I have found some value for the Lolly Faithful:

19:34 – Stayers

So here he is. Farloe Tango. If you haven’t seen him run yet, then you are in for a real treat here. If you have, you will know what I am on about. His style is simply devastating as he jogs around with the rest of his colleagues (while they are running at top speed) before he decides to unleash his freakishly awesome pace to make top quality greyhounds look like they are running backwards. He is a great character as well with his quirkiness leading to him stopping during trials if he feels like it. That takes nothing away from him though in my dog’s honest opinion. He has enough pace to live with any greyhound over any trip when he unleashes his speed and this should be a stunning spectacle against a moderate field. I’m spinning around in excitement thinking about this “race”!

19:49 – Standard

It is hard to get away from the All England Cup winner (over this Course and Distance) that is Calzaghe Davy from a good draw in trap 3. He has admittedly put in a few moderate trials coming back from injury, but that is more than factored into his price and he should be backed. He has a nice turn of foot on this long run-up and the staying power to see his rivals off here. He beat Glenpadden Bolt in the aforementioned tournament last year and whilst Bolt has speed, he is 0 wins from 7 now. Aghaburren Paddy has always been a dependable dog when on the bunny, but he will struggle to match Davy to the bend here.

20:04 – Bitches

This is a must-watch affair here (as all bitches races are) as the inside 3 have superb early to the bend and it really does depend on which one of them can assert around the first for me. Akerview Gem and Caseys Wonder reoppose here after the former just managed to squeeze round last week, but I think it is the turn of Silverview Pinky to use her draw on the inside to get round the first bend in front here. She has not had a go at these traps which is a concern for her pinging abilities but she rates the value here as Caseys Wonder wants the rails and Akerview Gem can hold her pitch like she did at Sheffield against her. In these type of races (as last week showed), it is often best to be on the side of the bitch drawn on the inner, and Pinky can utilise that fact.

20:19 – Standard

I barked last week that Hather George is probably the most consistent dog of his generation and he did not disappoint. Yes, he did not win but he ran with huge credit and he does not face a class of rival like Candlelight King here. Greenwell Mentor loves it round here and is 3 from 4 when drawn in 6 over the Course and Distance, but I think that George has a touch more class and is certainly the value here. Lister’s stalwart can also ping the boxes at this track which he showed last October (out of trap 5) and so Mentor might not even get his way up front here; you don’t see many dogs passing George. Calzaghe Mario is constantly hyped but has been paw for some time now.

20:34 – Puppy Final

The young tykes have a go here and in a race full of inexperienced railers, it is probably best avoided. Farloe Nutter doesn’t headbutt the boxes like you would expect, but he has got nice early and could make up into a useful sort. He will have to clear the progressive Cashen Maureen though, as she has a very useful formline behind Sidarian Blaze (28/1 third favourite for the Derby this year) at Shelbourne. Bailiff Turbo has also shown a bit of pace and his railing antics will not do the field much good from trap 6. It’s a tentative selection for Nutter to avoid trouble and assert.

20:49 – Sprint Final

So here is one of our first antepost runners of the night and he still looks overpriced to me: Farkland Impact. One of the reasons that he was recommended for this tournament is that he runs this track so well and looked very impressive when winning at 7/1 in front of the Sky cameras around here last year; could it be a case of dógjà vu this evening? I think so. He slightly missed the break in the heats and whilst connections suggest his best box is in 3, I’m not too worried about him drawn out wide. Ballymac Best is a worthy favourite being 7 wins from 8 starts over the Course and Distance but the discrepancy in prices between him and Impact does look big to me. Indeed, Best did miss the break in the heats and Impact does not need a second invitation around here as we found when he beat Jumeirah Dubai (who also missed the break as favourite) at the back end of last year. Calzaghe Sunny is a pacey sort but was no match for Best when they met last and I see no reason for that formline to be reversed.

21:04 – Stayers Final

Lagganmore Milan was running in a different race to Farloe Tango at Monmore in December last year, but that does not mean that Milan should not be feared over this trip. He has great early and stays strongly which should be too much for his rivals here as he has a lovely draw to work from. Calzaghe Lilly will need trouble in-running for Milan but rates as the only real danger to this powerhouse.

21:19 – Standard Final

What a race this looks on paper and the Lolly Faithful are relying on Pay Freeze to win us another Category One final (after he won the Steel City Cup for us last year). In that race he was drawn in trap 5 and after taking a step left (as a natural railer) he corrected himself like a really good dog and went straight up to the bend to finish the race as a contest: I expect the same here. Mileheight Alba has huge pace to the bend but often misses the break (like he did in the heats) and whilst his scintillating early normally gets him to the front anyway, the much more reliable trapping of Pay Freeze could have finished the contest before he makes the bend. He also looks like he craves the rails move than the selection so his draw in 5 is a lot worse than Freeze’s in 6 to me. Hadrians Wall is one of my favourite colleagues in training and will never stop trying to win.

Here are the recommendations:

9:19 – Pay Freeze – 1 breast of chicken @ 4/1

So there are my thoughts on the proceedings this evening! As ever, please tweet me if you have any comments and I promise to bark back at you faster than Impact and Freeze make the first bend today (and that will hopefully be very fast!). It could be a great night for the Lolly Faithful and if not, the pleasure of watching Tango will be entertainment enough.

Enjoy the racing,

Jimmy

It’s fantastic to see so much action from us dogs on Sky Sports and it continues this evening with an intriguing card at Sheffield. There are some fascinating finals to analyse after the heats last week were arguably ran on ground favouring the wide runners; we will see tonight if that was the case! Sheffield is one of the strongest graded tracks in the country (along with Newcastle) and so it is always worth keeping on the right side of those pesky locals who are unexposed against the familiar doggie faces that we see most weeks. The track is a nice galloping circuit which gives a fair chance to any way my colleagues like to run their races and so it should be a great night’s entertainment! As ever though, we’re not just looking for entertainment as value is what really gets the Lolly Faithful howling in excitement! I have found some for us this evening:

19:34 – Marathon

These long-distance races are becoming a regular feature in front of the cameras and without a particular standout candidate for a superstar in the division, they often throw up strange results at the moment. One bitch that could defy that general trend is Burgess Borna who thrives when given racing room and showed at Hall Green last time out that she craves these extended marathons. She ran on really well to catch the proven stayer (who is albeit one-paced) Incitatus in her last race and she can assert earlier in this race. Supreme Rossie also chased down Incitatus in the aforementioned race but Borna looks to just have a slightly better turn of foot than the Stuart Buckland runner (who’s kennel is flying at the moment, admittedly).

19:49 – Sprint

The highlight of the night here as the sprinters line up in what looks like a three-way affair to me. Lode Henry has trapped poorly from the 1 box every time he has been drawn there so he can be swerved and whilst Mustang Blitz clearly has pace, he has had little to beat when he has won. Of course, he can only beat what he is racing against but Guinness Sky has an (all-too infrequent) touch of class and if he pings like I used to, then he is the value here. He can run shockers at times, but has searing pace when he is on a going day.

20:04 – Stayers

Well, last week at Hall Green saw Scala Dromin break the hearts of the Lolly Faithful when she collared our antepost selection, Blonde Razor, in the final strides of the Prestige. Dromin clearly has pace but the energy-sapping conditions in Birmingham last week could have perhaps exaggerated his talent and he is worth taking on here. When looking at the prices, I nearly fell off my sofa and got so excited to the point I have barely been able to have my usual 4 naps before my afternoon walk: Bit View Bugatti is absolutely huge at 7/2! The Kinsley raider has brilliant early around here and whilst she does need the line over this trip, I expect her to be a country 1609.3 metres clear of the field after the first circuit to put this race to bed (I am aware that my calculations may be a slight exaggeration). Tambourine Man and Glenpadden Isle do all of their work all too late in most of their races and I just cannot envisage Coolavanny Doll leading Bugatti. Of course, if one of the chasing pack gets a dream run or a flyer out of the traps, then Bugatti will be in trouble, but she is well, well overpriced for me at 7/2.

20:19 – Standard

The influence of one-race form is a perillous guide to a dog’s form and I think that the humans have overreacted to Candelight King’s minor blip last week in the heats of the competition run later tonight. Aside from Pay Freeze, I would suggest he is the best dog at Sheffield and he can quickly assert here and lead the highly thought-of young tyke that is Farloe Striker. The main danger comes in the form of Hather George who is arguably the most consistent dog of his generation and will always give his all; yet that approach might be taking it’s toll on George who is uncharacteristically 0 wins from his last 4 starts here. I am loathe to taking him on normally but I simply have to with the track star (6 wins from 9) that is Candlelight King.

20:34 – Marathon

Another extremely difficult marathon to assess here as it is solely based on if Fearsome Liberty is race-fit for this distance. The market seems to think so and if she does not need the run, she will saunter clear of these. I, however, think that you need to have had at least a run over a long 6 bends before a marathon and therefore I think the value is in Borna Standard who is stepping up to this distance for the first time. Of course, he will have to confirm he stays too but I would rather have a dog that has built up his stamina (and believe me they need stamina for this ridiculous distance!) and I think he is the value. Crooks Mercedes is another viable alternative but again, she has not ran over any sort of staying distance since 19th December. Standard is a very tentative selection.

20:49 – Bitches

This race has really got me salivating (and not just because they are bitches!) because I think it is one of the finals that may have been affected by the going last week. Rewind Express was a good way clear before getting dog collared on the line by Greenwell Lark and I think she can reverse that form tonight at a price. She has a good draw to work from with Story Time mid-to-wide and so she can have the rails to herself. Droopys Hope is just not the force-of-old for me since she became a mother but if the Oaks winner of 2012 can reproduce that form, then she will go close but I don’t think she quite has the same desire to win races and perhaps has more of a desire to be with her pesky tykes. Hope can, however, provide a nuisance to Lark to the point where Express has built an unassailable lead.

21:04 – Bitches

Two bitches races on the TV in a row – what a treat! This one is far more hard to call with a case to be made for virtually all of the runners. There are so many unexposed sorts in this and the break will prove pretty crucial. Akerview Gem is a confirmed front-runner but may have to deal with Caseys Wonder going for the rails from the off. That could set the race up for the bitch in-form that is Proper Fancy who showed great desire in the heats to get on the bunny. She is closely matched to Razldazl Katie on their local form but I Fancy the 3 bitch to prevail based on her recent form.

21:19 – Dogs

So the finale here sees one dog that in houndsight, I back too much but he is once again unavoidable in his beloved red box: Droopys Odell. The pace that this colleague of mine shows when he has his rails is scintillating and even before the withdrawal of Droopys Dave in trap 2, he had a great draw and he simply has to be backed at around evens. He has come back to all-conquering form around here and the fact that he may even lead tonight suggests this could be a forlorn race for his rivals. Aghaburren Paddy rates as the danger as he stays and occassionally pings, but once again the Lolly Faithful will be on Odell in one.

Here are the recommendations

9:19 – Droopys Odell – 2 chewstix @ 4/5

So there we are! There are my thoughts on the proceedings and as ever, please tweet me if you have any comments and I promise to bark back with as much enthusiasm as I showed when I saw Bit View Bugatti’s price this morning (and believe me, there was a lot of spinning in circles and barking then!). As you will know from my racing career, I was very predictable and some might argue that has transferred into my career as a Freelance Journadog; backing Droopys Odell in trap 1, who’d have thought it…

Enjoy the racing,

Jimmy