GREYHOUND PREVIEW: Main action is back in the UK this weekend. Hove kick off a busy December period. On Saturday night they have the opening round heats of the Coral Olympic over 515m and also on the card are the opening round heats of the George Curtis & Ballyregan Bob Memorial over 740m.
Hove Kick off with a Busy December Schedule
After another wonderfully successful Winter Racing Festival at Shelbourne Park the feature action switches back to the UK. Shelbourne Park will continue to host top class action this weekend with the semi finals of the Shelbourne Marathon as well as the opening round of the Christmas Oaks. Betting options will be available on the BETDAQ exchange for Shelborne’s Saturday night card. Hove will be the focus of attention in this week’s piece as the first round of the Olympic over 515m gets underway along side the opening round heats of the George Curtis & Ballyregan Bob Memorial over 740m.
Hove Olympic: The first of six opening round Olympic heats get underway at 18:43 on Saturday night and here we see the return to action of Nottingham Eclipse Stakes winner Newinn Syd. Syd was sensational all through the Nottingham showpiece beating a classy field in the final. He is as short as 7/2 in a place for outright honors and it’s easy to see why. He posted 30:34 in a recent trial- (his first look at the track) but will need to go quicker if he’s to beat off some top-class rivals. Recent Puppy Derby finalist King Combs ran well around here after a slow start last week but its Hollow Man who will rate the main danger. The brilliant son of Pat C Sabbath ran out an impressive winner of this years Champion Stakes at Romford. Hollow Man has only had two starts since, winning with ease on both occasions and Hove should suit his running style. Both Newinn Syd and Hollow Man should safely progress to round two but on this occasion slight preference is for Newinn Syd to step up on his trial effort and make all. Queen Shakira looks hard to oppose in heat two at 19:18. Ballymac John is the obvious danger but is inconsistent at traps. Hesoneofowrown just got the better of Lightfoot Falcon here on Nov 23rd and the pair meet again in heat three at 19:56. Lightfoot Falcon displayed plenty of pace on that occasion, but Hesoneofourown is drawn to confirm the form and make it six wins on the bounce. Wasted Monday and Ower Mystery should fight out heat four at 20:38 with slight preference for the former. Low Pressure should also qualify from that heat. The penultimate heat is due off at 21:12 and East Anglian Derby winner Watch The Limo can return to winning ways from trap four. He ran well on his return from a short absence last Saturday and should be able to build on that. The final heat at 21:28 sees Ante Post favorite and recent English Puppy Derby winner King Memphis run from trap two. Memphis broke the Towcester track record on the way to winning the Puppy classic and will be hard to beat in the last.
George Curtis & Ballyregan Bob Memorial: Droopys Clue is the star attraction in this event, and he lines up in heat one at 18:58. He had no luck when contesting a hot six bend contest at the Winter Racing Festival at Shelbourne Park last Saturday night, but this looks like a much easier task. Clue won’t be any fancy prices but should take this opening heat. Bradys Bullet is the obvious danger but hasn’t had a race since mid-September and may just come on for this outing. The inside runners should dominate heat two at 19:36. Savana Heross was a good winner at Nottingham last time out. She has won five of her last eight starts and should be there at the business end Haka Carlo and Baywatch Bullet should compete the 1-2-3. Savana Jazz looks the one in heat three at 20:17. She met trouble on more that one occasion when just failing to overhaul the leader when a well-supported favorite at Towcester last time and compensation waits for her followers. Clongeel Ozzie is high class on his day but hasn’t won a race since April and needs to string a few good runs together. The final heat can go the way of Ower Smasher at 20:54. This powerhouse hold recent victories over her main challengers in this-Millridge Tanic and Beach Babe. Pomba Jake may look to set the early pace and is not without a chance of causing a mild surprise. Don’t expect to see Ower Smasher in the early part of the contest but if she’s anywhere close at halfway she will be mighty hard to contain.
OXFORD FRIDAY
Racing Post Greyhound TV will host a good quality card on Friday evening with open races from Oxford and Romford. The first round of the Challenge Cup will feature on the Oxford card. New Destiny should prove too strong in the 19:24 while Lively Lauren has a perfect draw in a hot looking contest at 19:44. Lauren has recently returned from a break and could yet improve further. Minnie Bullet can make all in the 20:03
