The action returns to Nottingham this evening in front of the Sky cameras as an intriguing Eclipse Final takes centre stage. I bark that it’s intriguing because the usual Category One protagonists are nowhere to be seen with them either eliminated or not entered (the Laurels begins soon) so the race has an open-looking feel to it as my lesser known colleagues have a chance to win a big competition. Besides that, the supporting card is a decent one and whilst those pesky bookmakers were definitely on top the last time the cameras were at Nottingham earlier in the month, the favourites and shorter-priced dogs look drawn to be very competitive tonight. As ever, I have found the value for the Lolly Faithful:

19:34 – 480m

Two of the brightest young tykes for 2015 line-up here in Laughing Gravy and Swift Hoffman and whilst the former has really come-of-age since winning the Romford Puppy Cup in scintillating style, Hoffman is the track record holder and any odds-against on him vanished quicker than when I see a rabbit in my field! Gravy does have great pace to the bend but he is arguably better out of 6 and so whilst Hoffman will have to be paw perfect round the first bend, he has the pace and track-craft to become a serious contender for the big tournaments next year. Redbrick Stuart has always been blessed with pace and desire but his antics in the traps (often lying down like he’s on a sofa) are often a very costly downfall. If he turns handy he can cause an upset, but it is very hard to hassle the Hoffman round here.

19:49 – Puppy

The young tykes have a go here and it looks to me to be a race to the bend between Salacres Pele and Aimnfire. The latter will appreciate this draw in 4 more than his draw in the Puppy Derby Semi-Final where he cut inside when coming out of 6 but Pele has been mixing it with the best youngsters around and he can appreciate a drop in class here. He has not been disgraced by any means against some serious young colleagues of mine and even won a round of the Northern Puppy Derby: that form is too much for these. There have been doggie treats for Perrys Bid this morning and humans giving away their beloved snacks must be respected, but it is hard to envisage a jump from A7 at Henlow to a Sky winner, even though we can jump pretty high.

20:04 – Bitches

The race that always gets me on the edge of my sofa and Skywalker Alice has finally settled into her UK kennel and can show why she was the most feared bitch in Ireland before breaking into season earlier in the year. Elwick Glory has lost her way and doesn’t really rail so Alice can go up the inside and begin mowing down the front-runners in the back-straight. That barked, she is not devoid of early based on her Irish efforts, but the likely early of Golden Apple and Clounamon Queen should see them turn in the lead. Queen has won over 6 bends but her form is not especially impressive in top class company and although she could be value to get a cheap lead if Apple doesn’t break well from 3 or moves violently left which could happen, Alice still has the class to overpower here. Quiz Book won the scrappiest race I’ve seen in a long while when virtually being on the floor in her last run and managing to get back up to win, but her presence here is mainly to deter Toosey Fern from turning as handy as she did when winning on the last sky card at Nottingham. An intriguing race but Alice should be clear favourite in my dog’s honest opinion.

20:19 – Marathon

The lunatics are on show here as they go for a ridiculous 905m and there is no better dog over this sort of insane trip than King Kane. He has looked virtually unbeatable since stepping up in trip and his efforts in the St. Leger over 6 bends were very admirable. He was beaten fair and square by eventual winner in the heats, Roxholme Dream, before showing his desire is still there in claiming a hot Semi-Final by overhauling his rivals. The final was run 3 days after which does not suit the true stayers like him, so his run is forgiven in that he was also drawn pawly outside of 3 wide dogs, so he should be fully raring to go here at his optimum trip. Fizzypop Magic was impressive on his marathon bow-wow last week but Kane showed superior form at Wimbledon over 6 bends in the Leger and it is very hard to see how Magic can improve enough to beat Kane over this distance. Festival Time was a real eye-catcher at Wimbledon in the race won by Magic, as she got in all sorts of bother and ran a mighty race to come second but she is drawn again next to Mays Petal, which is hardly ideal for her. Petal seems to get herself in bother (although she did set the Track Record over course and distance when getting loose) and her presence should be enough to stop Time from getting a clear run again. Kane to harry his opponents on the first circuit before unmasking his awesome gears over this trip and burning his rivals for speed.

20:34 – Standard

The strength of the Nottingham roster isn’t what it used to be but that still does not mean the locals should be ignored and Bromwich Tom is the pick of that lot; with a good draw to work from he can win one for the Nottingham faithful here. Benkaat Nero is very hit and miss and to be honest, more miss, so Tom can lead the inside as Droopys Cortez comes out like he’s been having a nap in the boxes. Scarface is a talented but frustrating individual who I cannot think will appreciated being in trap 4 so he will be going straight right which should sadly put paid to the chances of Viking Jack. Jack is a fellow tweeting greyhound (@VikingJackDog) who I have been mentoring and whilst he has barked that my wisdom reminds him of “Yoda. But bigger. And faster” (I hastened to add that I was less green, too) he will have to ping like me to avoid the trapper in 4 tonight. He could do it (like his famous win in the Monmore Gold Cup) but he is not reliable enough to fancy this evening as drawn, sadly. Tom has enough pace to go with these and is a jealous dog on his home track when he gets a sniff.

20:49 – Sprint

Everyone’s favourite race here and it is all about the draw when so many classy competitors meet over the optimum distance for a hound to run. Calzaghe George is too short with the pinging railers of Lemon Pluto (off the track for a year but scintillating comeback trials), Aero Twizzle and Droopys Alessio to all give him something to think about, unless he gets a flier of course. If he pings like me then George will win but he is not value to do so and the definite bark in the race is the well-drawn Dragon Big Bux. He has beaten George fair-and-square round this track (lost next time out, admittedly) and if he can clear the enigmatic (and maybe disappointing) Salmon Fishing, he can swoop around the outside to land this. The early morning prices of 9/2 on him were way off the mark, and the 11/4 is still too big as drawn for the bottom to earn the big bux here.

21:04 – Stayers

Touch Tackle was eliminated from the St. Leger as the-then favourite because his human can’t drive a van to the dog’s workplace on time and with that in mind, he can start to make amends here by winning in front of the Sky cameras (if they make it to the track, that is.) There is plenty of early in the race with Rearguard Bond, Dinzeo, Droopys Hawaii, Airmount Paco and even Lowgate Jasper all having a bit of toe. With so much early, it is hard to see one of these hounds getting a clear run and that is where Touch can tackle his opponents as he picks them off one by one.

21:19 – Eclipse Final

As I barked earlier this is a real opportunity for one of the lesser known dogs to claim a Category One prize but the dog with a touch more class has to be the value here: Maum Legend. He ran with great credit in the All England Cup at his home track when defying some bad draws to make the final and has since been unbeaten in this tournament. He can miss the break horrendously but that has not been the problem at Nottingham so far and whilst that is a concern, if he gets a level break he has too much pace for these. Snappers Lad is turning into a real competition colleague and is drawn to out-run his odds, Killglen Chief hasn’t won in this sort of company and will need to prove he is Category One class and Burnfoot Alpha is a revelation since changing his kennel. If Alpha continues to progress he is the danger but Be Up Front (Swift Hoffman’s brother) is not short of pace and Alpha will need to be paw-perfect to clear him. Even taking all of that into account, Maum Legend should be not odds-against to win his first Category One event.

Here are the recommendations:

21:19 – Maum Legend – 1 chewstick @ 11/10

So there are my thoughts on the proceedings! As ever, please tweet me if you have any comments and I promise to bark back at you faster than King Kane asserts this evening! It should be a great night for the punters, human and hound-alike, and let’s hope the Lolly Faithful are saluting a Legend with our paws at the end.

Enjoy the racing,

Jimmy

What night we have in store at Wimbledon as we are treated to a fascinating conclusion of the St. Leger and a glimpse of the potential stars of next year in the Puppy Derby Final. I’m so excited I could only manage 3 naps today! It’s an intriguing card with some interesting looking draws for some of my colleagues and on a night where the track is expected to be fast, a hound on the bunny is the priority in my dog’s honest opinion. As ever, I have found some value for the Lolly Faithful:

19:34 – Sprint

Everyone’s favourite race starts the proceedings and with the class of Mustang Blitz and Wee Tiger Tots in the race, it is a tough bark to find the value. Slight preference at the prices is for Tots who just seems to have an extra level of pace to Blitz, but she is not guaranteed to clear the useful Express Max. He has good early and is a live-danger over 400m at Romford but his often tardy trapping can leave him behind against these class acts. If he pings like me he can be competitive and cause trouble for the tiny Tots but in barking that, she has the pace to show why she is a little sprinter to be feared.

19:49 – Maiden

Greyhound racing continues to shoot itself in the paw and on such a huge night, it is disappointing to see a Maiden feature on the card. The local Tintreach Willy sets a good standard in graded racing over the course and distance but the interesting runner here is the ex-Irish On Alert who has been subjected to a little gamble. That is down to his Irish form looking patchy, but strong when he gets it right and if he is on a going day on his English bow-wow, he should be too good for a maiden.

20:04 – Hurdles

My vote for the Greyhound of the Year (when they eventually allow us dogs to vote in the procedure) would be for Cornamaddy Jumbo who completed an unprecedented treble of hurdling crowns this year. He has had a tough campaign and 480m does stretch him however so he looks vulnerable. Jetstream Reason could be the value but if Jumbo jumps well and pings out in his effortless fashion, he is an aeroplane worthy of being crowned as the best dog of this year.

20:19 – Bitches

This is the race that always gets me salivating and it has an intriguing make-up with the favourite far from certain to appreciate her draw in trap 3. Babooshka can have howlers out of the boxes and with traps 1 and 2 being local bitches with pace to the bend, Aero is an uneasy favourite in my eyes. Borna Karma is an awesome bitch at Romford but you have to question why she has only been away from that venue once (losing over this c&d) and she has never been as good out of 5 as she is out of 6. With all of that in mind, Forest Sara is too big to run straight up the middle here and show her strength down the back and on the run-in. She will need luck as she does not quite have the early of Babooshka or Karma, but her draw leads her to be a must-bet at the prices.

20:34 – Marathon

The lunatics are on show here who like to go 6 bends too many and it can go to the dog who has been crying and howling to step up to an 8 bend trip: Fizzypop Magic. He won a round from off-the-pace in the St. Leger in game fashion and he could easily get on the bunny here and stretch this field. Mays Petal set the track alight with a track-record performance in front of the Sky cameras last time out but she might not get things all of her own way here with trap 2 looking to take her room. Live Queen continues to frustrate and Storm Pockets has been a grand servant over this sort of trip over the years but age seems to be telling with her. Magic to make-all.

20:49 – Standard

The standout value here is with the draw and King Dec can use his Arc winning pace to good effect from an ideal berth. Ballygibbon King has never been a railer and whilst he does not really like trap 5 or 6 either, the decision to take the mid-tag off him is a bold one as he runs off at the bend. Being such a big dog, he could cause chaos as Sparta Flame has pace up to the bend too and King will be with him. Screen Critic has been valiant throughout his long career but runs the bends these days like I would do (and I’m 7 years old!) so it is hard to envisage him winning from trap 4 (moving wide also) and that could be perilous for the dogs out wide. Dec has the Freedom of London today given to him by that human lunatic Boris Johnson and he can win over his optimum trip.

21:04 – Puppy Derby Final

The young tykes have a go here in their premier competition and with Derby clues for next year on full display, it is a race to make note of. Lenson Sanchez has been a powerful brute in the competition and whilst he would prefer trap 3 (or possibly even 4), he has the early to cheat a potentially hazardous draw next to Northern Puppy Derby beaten favourite Likeitalot. Likeitalot does not like trap 1 a lot and so he gave a game performance in behind Sanchez in the semi-finals but I worry that he won’t break as well from the inside box. Ballymac Gordie is a fellow Irish raider to Sanchez and utilised his plum draw in the semis to good fashion but it is hard to suggest he has the pace to beat the favourite here. Watch Your Face is a litter-brother to Likeitalot and suggestions that he was faster as a pup on the schooling tracks should not go unnoticed as he has a great draw next to the slowest dog in the world to the bend, Dragon Posse. Regular readers of the dog blog will know my admiration for Posse, however, and he is possibly my favourite dog racing at the moment. Hopefully, we will see why in due course but Wimbledon is not his track over 4 bends. Sanchez looks a proper dog to me.

21:19 – St. Leger Final

The Lolly Faithful are clutching onto 50/1 slips with our paws for Killieford Khali and all is not lost after he has fared OK in the draw and produced a scintillating turn of early paw in the Semi-Finals from a middle slot. He will have to be brave at the first bend to fend off 4,5 and 6 but it is not forlorn that he can do so. He is no 40/1 shot and so we have had to go in again with the potential that Roxholme Dream will not like it out of trap 2 (16:47 as opposed to 16:07 sectional when in trap 2 last). Chicago is well-drawn but he does not like to drive the bends like a brave little doggie when he feels others around him and so he will have to be a length clear at the bend to win this in my opinion: if he is clear he will not be caught. Teddy is badly drawn, Chicken runs into dogs and so I fail to see how King Kane gets the run that he got in the Semi-Finals to collar the long-time leader Khali. That coupled with the fact that Kane is a bad kenneller means that this late race is not going to suit him and it is hard to see how he is so short compared to the Lolly Faithful outsider. A fascinating contest which the outcome will almost certainly be known around the second bend with whoever is leading, or whoever gets a run in behind.

Here are the recommendations:

21:19 – Killieford Khali – 1 chewstick @ 40/1

So there are my thoughts on the proceedings! As ever, please tweet me if you have any comments and I promise to woof right back at you with all the enthusiasm I’ll show if Lenson Sanchez leads the first bend this evening. I apologise to my neighbours in the kennels around my sofa if Killieford Khali leads!

Enjoy the racing,

Jimmy