It’s been a cracking few weeks for the Lolly Faithful and with a mouthwatering card this evening to get stuck into I am salivating more than with a pork scratching in my mouth! Yarmouth is a track to follow the Charlie Lister runners (where isn’t?) but with his tremendous record of 11 wins in the East Anglian Derby he bids to make it an historic 12th triumph round this tight but competitive circuit. With the standard trip being on the shorter side of a true four bends, this circuit often favours the speedsters who ping like me and set a target for the others to chase. It is not solely a front-runners track, but the way the Sky cards have been going this year with ludicrously quick running surfaces (for reasons unbeknownst to humans and us dogs alike) we will be focusing on who can make the bend in a prominent position at least this evening. It looks a great punting card to throw a few doggie treats at and as ever, I have found plenty of value for the Lolly Faithful:

19:34 – Dogs

The real boys grind it out here in a battle of masculinity and a battle it looks on pawper with the draw not being in favour for any of the three inside runners. Bills Heartbeat has been off the track for a while but showed good speed prior to whatever niggle he has had and can pace up to put pressure on the enigmatic Guinness Spark and the rails-loving (and also long-absentee) Golden Wonder. Wonder was ludicrously inclined to the rails as a young tyke and whilst he has grown out of his pawchant for the paint somewhat, being off the card for a while could result in him returning to his ill-fated ways when drawn middle. That all leads to there being a surprise on the cards here in my dog’s honest opinion and that comes in the form of the quietly impressive King Grant in trap 6. He has shown great early zest around Romford of late (a real front runners circuit) and he can lead the outside here and set a solid benchmark of 28:30 with which the others will not be getting to if there is the expected trouble on the inside. Grant can make-all here for a much deserved victory.

19:49 – Marathon

Hardly the most inspiring of the ludicrous distance type of race here and one wonders how everyone’s favourite race is on before the Sky cameras (at 19:16) and this race has made the cut. Nevertheless, front-runners are the name of the game this evening and whilst Crazy Weasley with a clear run will pick these up with consummate ease, he has not had a look at the track and will be likely to find a bit of trouble on his way round. Unscathed he walks this but a tentative vote goes to likely leader Toosey Beannie to establish a big enough lead on a quick circuit to just about stay this trip, which she struggles to get in normal circumstances.

20:04 – Bitches

This is the race I’ll be on the edge of my sofa for and it has an intriguing make-up to it. Jaytee China is the class act and a lovely trial here last shows she runs the circuit but she has the reliable pinger in Franks Dream on her outside and the early-pace of Aero Babooshka on her inner. She is not value to cheat this draw but with Babooshka tending to nap in the traps more than I nap on my sofa, the vote still goes to China to make the bend and prove to classy for these.

20:19 – Dogs

Another macho display here could see a similarly chaotic affair on the inside. Jaytee Hawaii showed some of the best early out of any of my colleagues in the Derby and will be looking to move middle (although interestingly he won from 1 in the heats of today’s finale) whereas Cathys Clown is a natural railer who loathed being out wide in this year’s East Anglian Derby. Those two have similar early up to the bend for me and with Sidaz Jonathan not completely devoid, trouble at the first bend looks likely. With that in mind, the two local runners in Beaming Javier and Frettenham Flyer look to be the value in the race to me. Preference is for the former based on him beind drawn inside his rival and the fact he probably has a length on him to the bend on recent form which means he can assert on the outside (4 will be moving in) and swoop round to put his decent, consistent A1 sort of time to good effect.

20:34 – Marathon

A much classier marathon here but still one with question marks over a lot of the runners and with his chances of leading looking extremely high, Art Banksy looks a good bet here to get on the bunny and not be for passing. He set the track record over a longer trip at Nottingham when he got loose and this sort of distance is just about his optimum. Aayamzabella is in her favourite trap and whilst her record is 3 from 5 here, she has not won this calendar year (21 starts) and although she is very draw dependent, it is now starting to feel like she has lost her desire to catch that elusive hare. Melodys Rumble is in the best form of his career but can’t give Banksy too much of a head-start and Aero Flamingo is an in-and-out sort of bitch. She could surprise but there is little to be surprised about in Musical Fawn who looks like she needs 2000m, let alone 843m. The writing will be on the wall for Banksy’s competitors a long way out here.

20:49 – Standard

Any Dak was absolutely desperate not to make the bend as he was eliminated from defending his East Anglian Derby title and he can show what a class act he is around his favourite track here. With little early inside him in 4 and 5 he can be high, wide and not-so-handsome-as-me as he powers clear off the second bend. Ballygibbon King is fast on the bunny and whilst he will like trap 3, Snappers Lad has been pinging like me of late and will be moving middle from his berth. This potentially gives Mays King a lovely run up the inside but he looks plenty short enough given his inconsistent efforts.

21:04 – Stayers

An intriguing stayers race here can go the way of the in-form Black Francis who is unbeaten over this course and distance (admittedly from just 2 starts). He has the pace to lead this field along the rails and not be for catching, especially if Farley Rio is still running below par following his exertions in the Irish Derby. Rio just hasn’t quite had his usual early zest in his races since returning from a solid effort at Shelbourne Park and whilst he ran on gallantly at Romford on Friday behind the game-on-the-bunny Blonde Razor, he is a dog seen to best effect when he is leading. He should stay if he leads but I can see Francis turning in front of him this evening. Stainless Steel runs well on tight tracks but often needs luck in-running and local Tyrur Andy could prove to run better than his odds if he can produce one of his better starts. When all is barked and done, on an expected fast surface, Francis to make-all here.

21:19 – East Anglian Derby Final

This final with 6 railers looks like absolute chaos and needless to bark if one of these gets a flier and leads, they will surely go on to claim this coveted prize. Based on the draw and a level break, Rio Quattro is not ideally berthed as a middle sort of dog, Southern Mesut definitely prefers the middle and should be seeded accordingly and 2013 English Derby hero Sidaz Jack loves the rails and shows his best from traps 1 and 2. With Domino Storm not out of this as she has won a valuable race at Monmore from 5 and goes up straight and Swift Keith expected to be completely dumbfounded with his draw out wide, the value call is the outside in Forest Gavin. He is undoubtedly as quick as these on his day (he caught Southern Mesut in the heats) and whilst his early isn’t in the same league as some of these, his draw could prove crucial and he loves to ping out of trap 4. His human, Kevin Hutton, was at dismay at his draw so connections must feel he wants the rail more than I do but they often trial him solo from traps 4 and 1 to get him used to coming out of different positions. That has led to some of his best performances coming from the coffin box with 3 of his 4 efforts out of the trap producing a “Quick-Away” comment from the human that nobody sees upstairs. He will have to do a lot of things right and get a bit of fortune on the way, but he is no 16/1 chance with his make-up, ability and efforts from trap 4 in the past.

Here are the recommendations:

21:04 – Black Francis – 1 dog bone @ 11/4

So there are my thoughts on the proceedings! As ever, if you have any comments please tweet me and I promise to bark back with even more masculinity than the dogs will show in their races tonight! It should be a cracking night in East Anglia this evening and let’s hope the popular dog Any Dak gets some consolation for his desperately unfortunate attempt to retain his East Anglian crown.

Enjoy the racing,

Jimmy