JONATHAN HOBBS: A week today the Coral Golden Sprint kicks off at Romford and, judged by the entry for a batch of trial stakes tonight, it looks set to be a red-hot competition.
Speedsters aplenty will line up for the Coral Golden Sprint and some terrific action looks on the cards, although tonight is not too shabby either – and kicks off a terrific few days of open racing with Romford tonight followed by tomorrow’s matinee Crayford card for the Ladbrokes Golden Jacket and Sunday’s Springbok semi-finals at Central Park.
Let’s start with Romford . . .
Romford
6.27: Young Princess was knocked out of the Peter Bussey Memorial at Crayford, but still showed plenty of pace, including at the Kent venue the previous week. Paul Young’s bitch is the reigning Puppy Cup champion and could get first run on Seaglass Shadow outside.
Play: Young Princess
6.44: News Knight could represent the value for Martyn Wiley in another Golden Sprint trial stakes. The National Sprint finalist at Nottingham has an ace draw and could use the rail to best effect, although Ballymac Micko’s current lid-pinging form makes him a real danger.
Play: News Knight
7.17: Julie Bateson brings down the classy Forest Jason in a previous contest, but Tasty Treat might be her chance. He first made a splash in the Trafalgar Cup at Monmore and then the Newcastle Puppy Derby, has lots of speed and has trialled back well.
Play: Tasty Treat
8.06: Bubbly Cracker is interesting making debut in a heat of this 400m maiden. Paul Young’s charge is a well-bred Droopys dog who has improved in trials and might be anything – a Monmore trial suggests the Puppy Derby there could be on the agenda.
Play: Bubbly Cracker
8.21: Roxholme Socks is having just her third start so improvement is more likely than not. Hayley Keightley’s bitch ran in a classy contest last week, being caught by the clearly useful Aayzamza Royale, but a similar lead against these should be a winning one.
Play: Roxholme Socks
9.56: Swift Tarquin has run some of his best races at Romford and could be ready to strike again. John Mullins’ dog won well over 575m last month, beating Aayzamza Express, which is good form over 575m. Set to led over this 750m, he might need catching.
Play: Swift Tarquin
10.30: Droopys Aoife will be short but could be popular in the ‘getting out’ stakes. Ernie Gaskin’s Essex Vase champion has rip-roaring early pace and trialled back well over the sprint last week. The likes of Desperado Dan and Alien Sea could help make the market.
Play: Droopys Aoife
Good luck everyone.
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.