All England Club treble for Tom Heilbron

Heilbron dominates the opening round of the All England Cup

It was the Tom Heilbron show at Newcastle on Thursday night in the opening round of the Premier Greyhound Racing All England Cup, winning three of the six heats. 

Quickest of the three was Droopys Bookem, He had shown bundles of trackcraft in the Derby at Towcester and once more it was his natural instinct of when to hold back and when to attack that got the job done. He somehow ran out a six-length winner despite not taking up the lead until late in the day, showing all of his class in doing so. 

Unanimous Leon also got the job done from the innermost draw, showing the best pace to the turn to go around in front. A multiple Category One finalist this year, he once more showed that he belongs in the top level of company with a smart 28.63 display. He was runner-up in this competition last year and made the Northern Flat final here back in July, so he is well suited to this test. 

Heilbron's third winner was Ballymac Sargie who broke the beam in 29 dead. His time takes into account the trouble he faced early which saw him come from out the back, swooping late to pick up the win. He landed the Untold Stewards Cup at Star Pelaw over 590m, beating track favourite Emilys Superstar in the process. His extra stamina was a big plus to him on Thursday night.

For all Heilbron's domination, it was Santas Amigo for David Mullins who set the 28.30 standard in the heats. The Classic winner is going from strength to strength, looking well-suited to the return to a stiffer test over four bends. There is a very strong field against him but he is right up there with the best of them after his dominant four and a half length win. 

The ante-post favourite was Brian Fairbairn's Slingshot Poppy who used her early pace to good effect to land her heat in 28.56. She was always in control, pulling out enough in the early stages to always hold Northern Flat winner Naochra who had given chase to her from an early stage. It was a fluent opening round display, and it's likely that there is more to come. 

It was Droopys Sort for Carl Jackson who opened up the competition with a win. He found some trouble after a slow enough getaway but he has enough stamina to turn on the afterburners when they were required to power home by three-quarters of a length. He was one of three heat winners who contested the Classic final at Sunderland recently, a competition where the form is standing up to early scrutiny. 

In the opening round of the Jimmy Wright Future Stars, it was Mark Wallis's odds-on ante-post favourite Strike It Skye who led the way, bolting clear in the opening heat to win by 10 and a quarter lengths. Her 28.25 was the quickest time of the day in either competition, even though she didn't take up the running until they went down the back. 

Woltemade added to his impressive debut win last week with a 28.54 success for Jimmy Fenwick. He was the closest rival in the pre-race market to Strike It Skye and on the clock, he proved to be exactly that. He was six spots quicker on the split and has less miles on the clock, so that gap could yet be closed. 

Carol Weatherall's Backtoyourbest landed the final heat of the night in 28.84. He had made the semis of the BetGoodwin Maiden Series over 450m at Oxford last month but looked better suited by the longer distance. He's only a May 24 pup and a litter brother to Heartandahalf who has looked an excellent recruit at Yarmouth.

The other heat went to David Fradgley's Bouncing Monarch who justified the same cramped odds of 1/6 that Strike It Skye had, in a time of 28.98. He was nothing like as quick to stride as a few of his rivals in the competition but he paced up well to the bend and was in control from there.