The East Anglian Derby is often a fiercely competitive Category One tournament for Yarmouth’s big night of the year and this renewal has been no exception with a quality final awaiting us.  Last year saw an emotional celebration for Swift Keith’s human John Mullins who had wanted to win his local track’s tournament for many a year and whilst Keith bow-wowed out in the semi-finals in defence of his crown, Mullins still has some live chances on the classy supporting card.  Hopefully the fact it has rained cats and dogs this afternoon won’t affect the going too much as it should be a great night and as ever, I have found the value for the Lolly Faithful and a goliath for an interest in each race:

7:11 – Standard

Clondoty Alex has quietly worked his way into being a nice early-paced Romford dog and his bravery at the first bend in front of the Sky cameras last Wednesday having missed the break slightly was the sign of a gutsy hound.  He will have to be on his toes from a wider than ideal draw this evening but without any serious early in the race, he can get to the bend in front before chopping his inside rivals.  Farneys Cookie and Soviet Kenny are more staying types but the former is well-drawn with Alex likely to seek the rail and the fact he should have the legs of Kenny to the bend.  That barked, I’m not sure Cookie has the natural 4 bend pace to catch the selection and if Alex can clear the well-drawn Cloncunny Bound (who is becoming increasingly disappointing) then he can make-all in a tough contest to call, in truth.

Lolly Goliath – T4 – Clondoty Alex

7:26 – Sprint

Everyone’s favourite race here would have Soviet Paddy as a strong favourite if he had drawn his 6 box but he has to be taken on from 4; he was slow-away last week when drawn in the black box (lost at odds-on) and his only other start on these shores from a middle box saw him miss the kick again when boxed in 3.  Whilst it’s hard to be conclusive from 2 examples and the fact he used to come out of 2 and 3 in Ireland, it is still more than a concern for the favourite and he is worth taking on because even if he comes out he will have to clear 5 and 6 which is no foregone conclusion.  Ballaghboy View is the colleague that interests me as he is unexposed and could turn out to be a useful sprinter for that human to be feared Charlie Lister OBE.  He has raced against some useful sorts on both shores and he just might be a bit under the radar despite trap 1 not looking completely ideal for a dog that might want to be in 3.  The formline that is of particular interest is a trial when he lost to Riverside Gold at Sunderland before the Classic there; Gold went on to lead the very useful Droopys Alessio in the first round of that tournament and has since been sent off very short prices in good sprints across the country.  Therefore, if View could keep tabs on that dog then he must have a bit of pace about him as Gold would be sub 2/1 favourite for this race.

Goliath – T1 – Ballaghboy View

7:43 – Marathon

The hounds that like to run a ludicrious distance go here and it’s a very useful looking marathon.  Despite not having a look at the track which is a negative, the first lap can effectively be a trial for Bubbly Time and it is a surprise to see her as big a 6/4 in her form.  Narrowly caught by the awesome Ballymac Bonnie in the TV Trophy, Time has subsequently clocked a track-record and her only defeat since that bold Towcester front-running effort was when Droopys Tamera flew out uncharacteristically and simply can’t be caught when she does that.  So since she seems to have got her head in the game after a quirky sort of few months a while back, Time has shown why her syndicate paid big doggie treats for her and she can account for a good field here.  Ribble Atom has tasted defeat to the selection a few times of late so it’s hard to see a form reversal there and Market Heights is a well-bred dog who thrives over these staying trips but simply doesn’t have the pace to keep up with Time in the opening exchanges and she won’t be caught by Heights over even this distance.  The danger is Burgess Borna who has slowly been nursed back to fitness and has some really high-class form to her name; whether she can compete today with the in-form bitch is a doubt though and Time really should be a shade of odds-on for this race.

Goliath – T1 – Bubbly Time

7:59 – Stayers

Perhaps the best drawn dog on the card this evening is too big a price, especially if the torrential rain has led to an outside bias, and Oneco Sky can build on some promising efforts since moving over from Eire.  The key to this race is Tivoli Ransom who has nice early (as shown at Romford last time out) and definitely tries to get closer to the rail at the first bend which could hamper Chicago (who has to lead but could very well do) and Head For Gold.  Indeed, it’s bemusing that Head For Gold is a much shorter price than Sky as when they met last the latter did a faster sectional and came second over the course and distance with Gold in third.  The danger is if Chicago gets loose as he’s had a look at the track now and is a tough dog to catch on the bunny over any trip; the potential for Gold and Ransom to hold him up however means the clear value in the race is Sky to stay high-wide-and-not-so-handsome-as-me to claim his maiden British win.

Goliath – T6 – Oneco Sky

8:16 – Bitches

I love watching a good bitches’ race and taking a significant class-drop here is Evanta Fantasy who should be ideally suited to Yarmouth’s tight track (as she is to Romford) and she can ping like me and make-all here with relative ease.  The danger is the fancied Droopys Scion who is a young tyke that is often supported in the market.  She showed eye-catching pace to nearly catch Droopys Story at Romford but her lack of brute early means that the Essex track was hardly ideal for her;  whether Yarmouth can bring a change of fortunes is up for debate but she clearly has shown pace in her brief career.  Unfortunately for her, Fantasy is a class act as she showed in the Derby when leading Irish Derby favourite Farloe Blitz in one of the rounds and that type of form is on a different level to anything these other bitches have achieved.

Goliath – T2 – Evanta Fantasy

8:33 – Standard

Last year’s East Anglian Derby finalist Southern Mesut is likely to go off just favourite for this race but the now veteran is very hit and miss in his advancing years.  If he pings out and shows the pace of yesteryear then this could be all over within strides at arguably his favourite track but he is overlooked in favour of a younger dog in Astra Prince.  Whilst his form doesn’t leap off the page as scintillating, he has shown that he runs the track well in the first round where he made-all in a paw affair and if he can repeat a sectional like that, he can clear the tardy starter Ballymac Manix (who really should have won at Sittingbourne on Sunday night when unusually prominent down the back) and get on the bunny should Mesut put in a flat performance.  The dog in 3 My Mate Max is a mercurial youngster who is struggling to put a run of good performances together but there is no doubt that he has tremendous pace when given room as he showed at Nottingham last month; he just seems to be taking a while to find his paws in the racing game and his role may be to just hold Mesut to the bend allowing Prince to swoop round the outside.  Another tough race to call.

Goliath – T5 – Astra Prince

8:51 – Derby Purse Final

For a hound with awesome pace and a style which suggested that 6 bends would be his making into a top Category One performer, Romany Rouge has been disappointing since stepped up in trip following the Derby and the quotes of circa 10/1 for him in the St. Leger now look absurd.  For him to be caught by admittedly the strong Borna Champ was a paw performance in my book as once he was on the bunny he should have got this trip doing pawstands: does he want to win, sadly probably not.  That, coupled with the fact that the aforementioned Borna Champ will have to weave his way through the entire field (which he has done so effectively at his local track so many times in fairness!) then the likeable battling front-runner Kakantu is too big to make-all out wide here.  His time is a full half-second slower than Rouge and Champ went and hence his price but if Rouge doesn’t show the required desire and Champ does find bother, Kakantu has every chance to hold off Black Francis (who is well-drawn on the rail) as he did in the last round.

Goliath – T6 – Kakantu

9:08 – East Anglian Derby Final

A classy field of proven Category One performers line-up here and between Southfield Jock and Ballymac Brogan, at the prices the former must be value to get on the bunny and claim his second Category One tournament and his first as an adult dog.  From a draw where he had missed it as Gymcrack favourite earlier in his career, Jock powered to the bend in the semi-finals, battled bravely at the bend to assert from former champion Swift Keith and also hold off Ballymac Brogan on his outside who was mounting a challenge.  That effort at the bend shows that this dog is bouncing and that he feels he has his rivals’ measure in this tournament round a track he is now comfortable with.  He stayed on well enough to the line as well for a dog who is known as a bit of a short runner and the 9/2 on offer is more than fair for him to make the bend.  Calco Flyer is a really likeable dog but he fluffed his lines in the semi-finals and struggled to match Do It For Twiggy to the bend in the first round.  With those two, I think it is a case that they are not quite Category One class and so the real battle here is who makes it to the bend between Jock and Brogan: my doggie treats are on the Jock.

Goliath – T4 – Southfield Jock

Here are the recommendations:

7:43 – Bubbly Time – 2 doggie treats @ 6/4

7:59 – Oneco Sky – 1 dog bone @ 13/2

8:16 – Evanta Fantasy – 1 breast of chicken @ 2/1

9:08 – Southfield Jock – 1 piece of bread @ 9/2

So there are my thoughts on the proceedings!  As ever, if you have any comments please tweet me and I promise to bark back at you faster than Jock makes the bend this evening!  Hopefully the rain won’t make the going favour the outside too much this evening and it is definitely something to note over the first few races, but if not then we should have a cracking card and hopefully a few winners!

Enjoy the racing,

Jimmy