BRITISH PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK 10 February 2025

BAYWATCH BULLET - the Hove selection Photo: © Steve Nash 

With Gary The Arb, Millbank Boiler and Kilmore Dancer, to name but three, all in action at Monmore on Saturday, it would have been an interesting call to decide which one would clock the fastest time of the Winter Derby first round. The answer was none of them. Quickest on the night was Queen Georgia. Not bad for a lady with 42.58 winning form over 712m at Towcester.

Gagas Merry, who finished three places behind Queen Georgia in the bet365 Challenge Cup (and four behind winner New Destiny), was several classes better than the opposition in Saturday’s 650m Oxford open. Robin Jury’s brindle finished four and a half clear of the opposition in 39.77 (-450). It was her ninth win in 24 races over course and distance.

Four of the six heat winners in the Northern Puppy Derby were May whelps. The quickest of them was Tom Heilbron’s local Deliveroo with a 28.53 run. The half brother to recent Blue Riband winner Table Toppers was tackling the Byker circuit for the fourth time. Maxine Locke’s Yahoo Maizy (28.62) and Ballymac Axel (28.63) went to traps with just one preparatory sighter apiece.

As the holder of the yellow/gold jersey at Romford, Maizy and Axel’s littermate Whitewood Lenny did enough to retain it following a 23.66 open race follow-up on Friday night; a seven spot improvement on last week’s run. A mention too for Scammer who returned from his Essex Vase disappointment with a 34.86 run over six bends.

A second selection for the kennel came courtesy of Cooliogold in the Northamptonshire Sprint where he clocked the fastest time in the first round, 15.63. The 2023 Monmore Puppy Derby was not only taking on two bend specialists, he was also contesting just his first race since going lame last October. A fabulous training feat for Team Locke.

So many worthy performances at Hove on Thursday. Kilara Magic clocked the fastest sprint of the year (16.35) though April pup King Presley was just seven spots slower. Quickest over the short four bends was veteran Romeo Command (29.31) and over the 695m was Innfield Rocket (41.89) with her sixth win in her last eight outings. The selection though was Baywatch Bullet in beating Barntick Bear and Antigua Kestrel in the fastest ‘515’ so far this year, 30.06.

The toughest decision of the week came from Doncaster. With new FOY figures being set for both the four bend trips on Saturday, it is almost an impossible task to separate them. We’ve narrowly opted for the 27.54 run from Keefill Maverick. It was his first race since contesting the British Bred Derby Final. The star of the 491m was Blue Boy, a 20/1 winner who produced the best run of his career. A mention too sprinter Skywalker Tino with his fourth win in his last five races, three of which were under 17.00.

Not that Sheffield was much easier. The fastest 500m winner of the week was Koh Samui with a 28.89 (+20) in A3 earlier in the week though Romeo Missile clocked 28.91 (N) in open race company while Acomb Felix (28.98) completed a five-timer on the same card. However all are put in the shade by D1 winner Ellanne Best whose 15.72 run is the fastest of the year to date. (The best run last year was Bettys Jack’s 15.71).

There were a couple of sub-28 A1 winners at Yarmouth on Wednesday though Feb Roy was comfortably the quickest with a 27.76 (N) run. Despite the name, Roy is a 29 kilo close railing female who seems to have inherited some of her early pace from her dad who is the joint track record holder in 27.17 off a 5.26 sectional. Craig Morris’ black clocked 5.24 last week though her PB is 5.22.

There was something of a ‘Ballymacfest’ at Swindon on Thursday where defending POW Ballymac Madgie (4/7f) was double teamed by the Kibble pairing of Ballymac Mags and Ballymac Loca (both 9/2), the former getting home close to the 682m winning line. But it could get more ‘Ballymac’ yet with Paul Foster’s stayer Ballymac Zari running herself back into form when beating Eze by nearly eight lengths in the day’s four bend open.

But there are more! While Ballymac Alyssa remains virtually unbeatable off levels at Kinsley, it was kennelmate Ballymac Frisby who landed the week’s feature graded event, a Sunday evening A2. Bev Heaton’s black, who is from the same litter as Irish star Ballymac Marino, clocked 28.28 for his 23rd career win from 93 races (24%).

When the fastest time of the week is produced by a pup, it stands a very strong chance of selection. In the case of Harlow, said pup is the Apr ’23 whelp Tinks Jester. The Sharon Saberton trained black only has 11 races on his card but Wednesday’s 26.62 A4 win was his sixth overall and his third in a row.

A similar theme at Central Park the previous day with another April pup. Dan Brabon’s Interest Free might have been a 12/1 chance in a decent A1, but he commanded from the front on just held off Farneys Joe by half a length in 29.37, which proved to be the fastest 491m run of the week. That’s five wins from his 11 CP races to date.

Tromora Goal – who spent the early part of his career at Central Park where he won D1 and A1 for Tony Collett – was the pick of the Sunday night open race winners at Pelaw Grange. His 25.63 for the 435 metres was 23 spots slower than the fastest time of the year to date – recorded by the same hound last month.

There would have been a strong case to select ex-Harlow open racer Good Streak as the Valley selection after he turned over track record holder Track Man in a Sunday 460m open. Though we could also have gone for the week’s fastest middle distance winner Rollerball with a 28.33 run in A2. Or, there was the option of Millbank Burner who beat kennelmate Different Speed and local star Freddo in a 15.82 sprint open. But we’ve actually chosen Droopys Nijinsky. He wasn’t quite as quick (28.37) but was stepping down from 645m and completing a five-timer.

Quickest over the Nottingham standard distance this week was Blacklabel Sally who picked up successive A1 races in 30.02. She has come on well from her D3 Perry Barr form. A mention too for a pup she had beaten in her previous race. Lynn Cook’s May ’23 youngster Mull Of Kintyre landed Monday’s maiden open in 30.27, his fifth win in eight races at the track.

Just loving the Perry Barr top heat battle that continues to dominate their Saturday night cards. Defending champ Inca Gerry went to traps at 7/2. The previous week’s POW Camp Parachute was half a point bigger. The layers made the prolific Swift Plank their 2/1fav but the honours went to Tony Harmes’ Chakra in a great finish: hd, ¾, 1, 1, 1¾. The 28.67 winner would be worth a few bob as a brood too, being a sister to Wicky Ned and Tralee 550 record breaker Dashing Toro.

In terms of the quickest run of the week at Sunderland, acknowledgement must be paid to Billy Blue Shoes following a 27.46 A1 win on Wednesday. But the selection is the visiting Newcastle runner Westforth Ceejay who did the business in an inter-track on Sunday with a 27.52 run. Fresh from a seven length Newcastle A3 win, George Stark’s blue fawn beat a field that included the defending POW Antigua Iceman in 27.52. It was career outing 127.