Ashway June sets new Valley track record as Nijinsky dances to half century of wins

June the new record setter

Ashway June has been putting together an excellent body of work over the 645m distance at Valley. Last week on -30 going she produced a 40.01 to tied her time from a week prior. Yesterday, she produced a 39.86 run to take nine spots off the track record. Adrian Rawlings's bitch was away and gone off a very slick 15.88 split and was never going to be for catching, even with the classy Carrick Scholsey turning second. 

Although the race that Droopys Nijinsky won was not an open contest, he needs a mention in the column as it was a 50th career win for the son of Broadstrand Bono. 50 wins is a remarkable achievement for any greyhound and he has done it in just 115 races, a clip of 43%! Donna Davy's veteran has wins over two, four and six bends, with 20 of his 50 successes coming in open race company. He has been a superb flagbearer for the kennel and is still getting the job done. 

It was a good meeting for Davy with a pair of open race winners as well. Roannna Justin landed a 460m contest and took the scalp of one who could turn out to be above average in the process, Droopys Edit. Mike Burton's runner made most of the running but was never quite able to get far enough clear with the winner powering home late around the outside to win a touch snugly. 

A sprint saw the other win for Davy, courtesy of Shunters Peace. It was a third win in the last five starts for the veteran who was as low as D5 in July but has found a new lease of life in the second half of the year. She was first to show, holding off the late challenge of Faradays Larry for Christian Darch.

Darch picked up a pair of winners himself, with Belfast Born another to get out in front in a sprint contest to lead her rivals home. By a sprint sire out of a coursing dam line, she is all speed and was was picking up her first open race success at the sixth time of asking.

Crokers Cian made it two on the day for Darch, causing the biggest surprise of the open race results in the process. The front pair pulled a mile clear with the second sent off the 3/10 favourite. She looking to have come with a winning run when poaching a three-length lead at the fifth bend. The eventual victor though was not to be denied, staying on powerfully late on to grab the contest. 

The quickest of the times over four bends on the card was produced by Shaun Gresham's Zenia. Not only was this a third straight win for her, she produced it in a race where Welsh Derby winner Face The Storm could only finish third. She got to the front at the opening bend and turned the screw from there. She found 500m at Hove far enough earlier in her career but sees this out strongly.

One other open race contest on the day was a sprint which went the way of Sadele for Craig Marston. She has found a rich vein of form in recent weeks, and while she was not the quickest into stride, it was more than enough to see her land her fifth win from her last eight starts.