British Performance of the Week - 20 April 2026

Vhagar lands another Category One crown

Vhagar added to the exceptional recent record of the Mark Wallis team in the final of the Arena Racing Company Grand Prix last week. She has now made five finals at the top level, winning three of them, always in control of her field on Friday night at Sunderland, chased home by a pair of her kennelmates. Credit too for both Slingshot Poppy and Bower Sheeran who produced smart runs on the undercard. 

The first round win of Copeny Queen in the Bet St George Gymcrack had been outshone by an exceptional sprinting winner, but there was no rival who was going to take away her crown as she led home her semi-final field at Sheffield on Sunday afternoon. The final will be her sixth start out of eight since joining John Flaherty in Category One company. 

Towcester also raced on Sunday afternoon where the performance of the week went back to Ireland via Lennies Eddie. It was a race that (sadly for connections) is far more likely to be remembered as the final start for Santas Amigo rather than the winner's performance, but he produced a smart run. 

There were also semi-finals of the Coral Brighton Belle over the weekend but none of the three went close to as quick as Strike It Skye had gone in the heats last week. As such, it is her kennelmate Pavilion Team who takes the award for a new quickest of the year time over the sprint trip. 

Speaking of sprinters, we head to Nottingham on Monday night where Da Don produced a time one spot different to his winning POW from the week before. Mark Russell's charge has really taken well to Colwick Park, though it is a long wait for December and the National Sprint there. 

Long waits have been a curse for the Champagne Club with Bubbly Crusader. He has made it to the track on very limited occasions, but when he has, he has shown that he is a performer right out of the top drawer. That was only his sixth race since joining Paul Young split up by 23 trials. Hopefully he can continue his race running.

Central Park on Saturday night saw just the second run of Headford Cian's career, clocking 16.21 in a sprint. The track was subsequently marked as -5, adding further to an already excellent run for a dog with so few miles on the clock. 

There were some strong runs at Doncaster on Saturday night. Ballarue Rolo produced a very smart 450m effort in a dual distance final having won POW for his sprint success in last week's column. It was Romeo Talisker and his quickest of the year that eventually got the nod.

A draw in the white jacket didn't look promising for Gordon Bennett at Monmore on Thursday night but Nathan Hunt's youngster showed enough pace to overcome the draw and produce a time one spot quicker than reigning POW winner Armagh Daithi clocked in his win. 

Wednesday night saw Dick Turpin come away running to steal a march on his rivals to claim the Yarmouth award. It was win number 21 for the veteran, with just one at Romford on his record filled up at Yarmouth. Wins over both two and four bends in top grade have been added in 2026, still showing a strong level of form.

There was a first career win for Mossend Brute, and he did it in some serious style, clocking 28.36 at Newcastle. He had finished fourth behind Woltemade in the Arena Racing Company Northern Puppy Derby final back in February but getting his head in front had proved tough. Hopefully now that he has, he can kick on from here. 

There was an excellent run at Star Pelaw from Glengar Shadow. He was 13 spots off the best time of the year at the track so far, a sensational performance form the dog who is the youngest on the list this week. It was just the third start of his career, a litter brother to one who made the final of the Juvenile Classic at Tralee earlier on in the year. 

It was a week for some solid sprinter times at Dunstall Park where Noels Spider was the pick of them. It was his first win at the track, with Perry Barr last August the last time that he had managed to get his head in front. It was a best run since starting out at Dunstall Park for him.

Kinsley saw a win for Killieford Negri early in the week, stopping the clock in a smart 27.72. He went on to run well when runner-up in a grade higher later on in the week to add to that. He has bundles of experience at the track and was winning for the fourth time in his last seven starts. 

Fastlane George produced an excellent sprinting win at Valley which was the second quickest time of the year. He was a top grade winner over both two and four bends at Central Park and has settled in well at this track, scoring for the second time in three runs.

We close out the week at Harlow where Fairhill Autumn was the top performer in a sprint contest. She had won a D4 three starts ago beaten in a pair of D3s so it was a surprise to punters when she took out a D2 contest at 16/1.