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