British Performance of the Week - 18 August 2025

British Performance of the Week

When New Destiny eventually retires she will be remembered as the best ‘short six bend’ star of her era, and among the greatest ever. Next Saturday she will surely start as favourite to land her fifth Category One contest in her eighth final. Yet interestingly, her six spot time advantage over kennelmate Vhagar in Monmore’s Stayers Classic heats was reduced to four in the semi-finals. A mention too for another kennelmate Armagh Daithi who is running into form after going lame in the Laurels final and went quickest in the Gold Cup (28.21). 

The Nottingham selection was always going to be based around the Puppy Classic semis. It was no surprise that Romeo Alliance went quickest; the fact that brother Romeo Ability was just five spots slower was interesting in itself. Alliance has now won his last five in a row and is on the verge of a unique Juvenile/Puppy Classic double. Interesting too to compare times for the Nottingham and Towcester trips. The 29.27 was his quickest Colwick Park run to date. His best Towcester run is a 28.66. Mentions too for Beatties Electra for the fastest ‘680’ of the year to date (41.38) and A1 winner Phoenix Cowboy, 29.41. (When was the last time you saw a +90 over a standard distance? If ever!) 

In the grand scheme, Romeo Missile will not rate among the elite ‘Romeos’ but his 29.22 (N) win in A2 at Sheffield was the best middle distance performance last week. Quickest run though was from Purmac Kelly with a 29.10 (+20) win in A3. So we are going with the sprinters and a 16.06 D1 four-runner win for the returning Colliers Brynner, back over 280 metres as he returns to match fitness. 

While the quality of racing at Sheffield was nothing special, it would be hard to remember a more moderate week of racing at Towcester. The fastest ‘500’ was recorded by A3 midweek winner Salacres Blake in 29.04 (+20). So we’ve gone with the April puppy Fabulous Riki after her open race win on Sunday in 29.31 (-10). 

The opposite is true at Star Pelaw where Kim Sanzone and Star Sports have revitalised the North East minnow. The track is now regularly attracting entries from all over the country over a variety of distances on a Sunday night. Pick of the crop this week was the 25.37 run from Dreamin Porcha. Now with Glenn Foot, having previously clocked 26.95 (450) at Oxford for Kevin Hutton, the early paced black clocked the fastest ‘435’ of the year on Sunday, 25.37 (TR 25.13), when completing an impressive open race hat-trick. 

A string of quick times at Hove on a warm Thursday night including the second fastest 500 of the year (28.87) from Paul Donovan’s So Cool. However, it is possible that the relative merit of Broadway Murty’s 16.11 for the sprint might go under the radar. In the last seven years following Kilmore Lemon’s 16.05, only Carters Bar (16.10) has gone quicker than Sean White’s brindle who UK record now stands at: 33 races, 19 wins, 7 second places. 

Toddys Tank was the fastest hound over Newcastle’s 480 metres this week with a 28.53 run. That was trumped though by Sunnyside Jayden’s 16.85 sprint run, a time only bettered this year by Stonepark Hoffa (16.68). That is four wins and two seconds in his last six races for Ted Soppitt’s brindle, which included a short head defeat by Toddys Tank at Sunderland the previous week. 

The Soppitt kennel’s Newcastle double was followed on Friday by a 27.13 win at Sunderland for Sunnyside Ghurka. But that was only the third fastest time of the night. The only hound to break ‘27’ on the week was Whitehills Titan. In his fourth outing since joining Ryan Buckton, the 28.79 Dundalk winner romped up by six lengths in 26.96.  

It would be tempting to suggest that the average racing at Swindon last week due to the cancellation of the Tuesday card as necessitated by the heatwave. But the mediocrity stretched to a couple of bang average minor opens on Friday night. Quickest and most impressive winner of the week was Paul Foster’s Harlequin Dahy with a 28.34 run in A2. Not only is the blue a litter brother to the Sunderland selection, he had beaten him eight lengths when the pair ran their first ever qualifying trial. 

Tiemana Rocky (27.47), the joint fastest-of-year hounds for Kinsley’s 462m trip (level break) was given two metres start in a handicap at Kinsley on Friday. Meanwhile our heroine, Ballymac Alyssa, was in the same race, running off scratch. But she still won in a brilliant 27.41. Next week should be interesting. Either the grader will be forced to run her back over the sprint (off scratch obs!). Or he might stick her back over ‘462’, (off scratch obs!), towing a freezer. . and possibly with him in it. 

What time would a Towcester 28.65 winner do he if he stayed a further 75 metres? The answer in 34.59 and the dog who provided the answer was last week’s selection from the Derby venue, Kilmore Dancer. Only Gary The Arb has gone quicker this year (by two spots). Mentions too for Teaboy Brownie who was two spots off the fastest sprint of the year (again) with a 13.34 run and last week’s selection Alright Gordy winning again over eight bends. A mention too for Saturday night A1 winner Uncle Ed (23.75), recently out on parole following a bit of ‘unpleasantness’ in his previous outing. 

The Click Competitions 79th East Anglian Derby starts in 16 days time and the name ‘Bockos Buster’ will be in the mental notebooks for many of the Yarmouth punters. On Saturday night, Kevin Boon’s fawn produced a 5.08 sectional on his way to a 27.52 (N) run for the Derby course. The winner’s time was ‘decent’ though the year’s fastest winner Laugh Alot (27.38 +30) as in the field but well beaten. It is interesting that Jane Craske’s prolific early paced star has a career best sectional of 5.15. 

In his last race at Yarmouth, Lisnakill Oxo started at 4/1 in A6 and finished second. On Wednesday, Di Jinks’ Sep ’21 whelp didn’t lead until halfway in a Harlow A4 but pulled away to clock 26.13; just one spot off the fastest time of the year recorded a week earlier by A6 winner Cabriol Maggie. There would have been a time when these strange lines of form might have raised some curious interest . . .but not any more. 

Valley times are normally more logical and Loot And Shoot followed up his 28.59 open race win with a 28.56 victory in similar company on Sunday. Though it isn’t immediately obvious why both times are so much slower than his 27.87 over the same course and distance earlier in the month. No matter, that’s three in a row for the current track champion. The quickest run of the week was actually Affleck Salsabil’s 28.38. 

The quickest ‘491’ of the week at Central Park was recorded midweek by A1 winner Princess Athena in 29.14 (-10). But given the quality of the race and going allowance, the selection is Saturday night’s fastest open race winner Coppice Lizzie. Luke Morrison’s former Oxford A2/Crayford A4 runner finally reeled in all-the-way leader Jumpstart Sarah by half a length in 29.20 (-20). 

On the same night, Lizzie’s litter sisters Coppice Lottie and Miss Kubelik were finishing 1-2 in the BGBF British Bred Oaks final at Oxford. The winner clocked 27.03. The selection though comes from the Friday night meeting. The 37 kilo Berties Decision seems to have perfected his trapping and followed up a 26.68 A1 win with a new PB of 26.57 for the 450 metres. 

Two Saturday A1 top heats dominated the Perry Barr programme this week though there was probably half a grade between them. The quickest, as expected. The winner, not necessarily so. Glenrock Ace (13/8) who was challenged in the betting by Lightfoot Ricky (13/8f). Moderately into his stride, the 36 kilo Ace accelerated past the favourite on the run-un and it was over as a contest by the halfway mark. The winner’s time was, predictably, the quickest of the week, 28.30. 

As minor opens go, the 483m contest won by Bombay Fantasy was not the quickest, but it was genuinely competitive. The layers went 15/8jf about Keefill Goose and Stonepark Wes, Agile Ange was next best at 11/4. The finish was as tight as the betting though not necessarily as expected with 10/1 chance Bombay Fantasy short heading his kennelmate Ange. Mentions too for December pup Blueys Elle (30.01) and a double for Knockard Joe over 661 metres. Or in his case, given his love of the hare rail, probably somewhere around the 680 metre mark.