WEEKEND GREYHOUND PREVIEW: It’s semi-finals night at Hove this Saturday with the Regency and the Sussex Cup taking place. Two will qualify from each of the three semi’s and make it through to next weekend’s finals. Barry previews the action ….
Cooladerry Dust impresses on Hove Debut
The Regency and Sussex Cup opening rounds got underway at Hove over the weekend and as expected the heats of both events produced some fine displays. Our ante post selection Cooladerry Dust was the quickest heat winner in the Regency, while it was great to see Candolim Monsoon set the pace in the Sussex Cup in what was only his second race in over nine months. The draws for the semifinals have produced a couple of cracking heats in each event. Let’s take a look at the best of the action.
Regency
The first semifinal of the Regency is worthy of a final itself. Queen Georgia Haka Carlo Coonough Crow and Cooladerry Dust all line up in this one and with only the top two to qualify from each semi there is little margin for error. Cooladerry Dust was the quickest of these last week and again looks to have an ideal draw. He seems to have the most early pace of these runners and getting to the front looks key. With a level start Cooladerry Dust should go around in front and at the very least take a qualifying position. Queen Georgia can go up better than she did last time and is another with a good draw. Coonough Crow and Haka Carlo are unlikely to race prominent early, although Coonough Crow does have the odd good start to her name. Both will be staying on well from halfway. I fancy Cooladerry Dust to make all in this with Haka Carlo chosen to get the better of Queen Georgia for second place late on.
Bubbly Scorcher and Ballymac Taylor look set to dominate heat two. The pair are not renowned for their early pace, and both will need the gaps to appear at the right time in the second part of the race, but they look a cut above the opposition. Ballymac Taylor has been in red hot form over the past few months and has now won thirteen of her last eighteen outings including winning her last five on the bounce. She looks impossible to oppose here and should come home ahead of Bubbly Scorcher. Tromora Rex is much better than his run last week would suggest, and he may be worth including in forecasts and trios.
Baywatch Bullet has some smart form over four and six bends and got back to winning ways when making all last weekend. She has a perfect draw and will look to employ similar tactics again this Saturday night. Lightfoot Falcon cause a mild surprise when he beat Coonough Crow last week and is another will look to make all. My selection in this will be Mystical Luna, Luna has been running well of late against some top-class rivals and this looks to be a slightly easier race than she has been contesting in recent weeks. Hopefully, Luna can turn in a prominent position early before getting the better of the front runner’s close home.
Sussex Cup
Newinn Benni is the only heat winner in the opening semifinal of the Sussex Cup, but he will have to be at his best if he is to finish in the top two and make next weekends final. Benni was well away last weekend and made all to win in a more than respectable 30:00. He looks to have a good draw again in this and should have no issues getting the better of Joes Sagar on the run to the bend. Clona Uriel and Newinn Syd can fly to the corner on occasions and whatever leads here will surely take all the beating. Antigua Bingo ran well when second behind Newinn Benni last time out and is another who has a chance. There are a lot of talented performers in this heat but predicting who will put their best foot forward on the night is impossible. At a push maybe Clona Uriel can step up on his latest outing, but I would certainly keep stakes to a minimum if having a bet.
Only five line up in the second semifinal at 20:07 and I will be hoping our ante post selection Clona Curley can find some racing room in the early part of the contest and make next weekends final. Curley has the pace to figure but his tendency to miss the kick often leaves him with a lot to do. Droops Clue is the standout performer in this heat and despite suffering plenty of traffic problems last weekend he still managed to come through and score. This heat does seem to lack early pace and Droopys Clue should lead up Minnie Bullet and Clona Curley, if he does that he should win comfortably. Wasted Monday and Beaming Panther are the obvious front runners but must poach a decent lead on the other three by halfway if they are to hold them off. Droopys Clue looks the one to beat and hopefully Clona Curley can come through late in the day to grab a qualifying spot.
The third and final semi is a real cracker. It was great to see Candolim Monsoon back to his best last week and hopefully he can build on that. Romeo Command is also running as well as ever and looks the one to beat from an ideal draw on the fence. Uncle Fredie is running so consistently of late and deserves to get his head in front soon. I have always been a fan of Antigua Forky and although he may have been a shade disappointing last week there is still better to come from this dog. It looks likes Romeo Command is the one to beat but do not rule out an improved performance from Antigua Forky.
Good luck
BARRY.
