British Performance of the Week - 21 September 2026
Five Category One competitions had their decider last week in a very busy span for races at the top level. Yarmouth, Romford, Dunstall Park and Towcester all had finals on their card.
Cat One finals galore
The GBGB race planning committee must have felt like Oprah Winfrey dishing out the Cat One finals that made up last week, 'you get a Cat One final, you get a Cat One final...' with five of them having their deciders.
It is at Dunstall Park where we start, with two of the five decided at the Wolverhampton venue on Saturday night. Droopys Flare has won POW for both her heat and semis win but when it came down to the efforts in the final alone, there can only be one winner and that is Woltemade. Victorious in his fourth Category One final of the year, he made it a memorable one with a new quickest of the year over the 480m distance.
Yarmouth on Wednesday saw the conclusion of one of the top events of the year in the Click Competitions East Anglian Derby. Aayamza Shazza came out on top to lift her first race at the highest level, but it was already the third time that she had made it to a final. Hopefully she can continue this level of form with the Oaks just around the corner.
Carrigoon Cece took the honours in the final of the Coral Romford Puppy Cup. Her time compared to others on the card over various trips was far from the standout on the night but given that it was only the third race of her career having made her debut in the heats, it was an exceptional performance to give Michelle Brown the first top table winner of her career.
There was a big priced winner of the Produce Stakes as Countess Penny landed the famous competition for Richie Taberner. She saved her best run for when she needed it most in the competition, claiming a career-best in the process. Having kicked off in A6 at Monmore back in February, she has progressed superbly for connections.
There was the start of the Category Two Star Sports Welsh Derby at Valley where Clongeel Bono produced the best of the opening round times. It is great to see the competition back on the roster and there will be some better times to come as the competition progresses, with his. time just 11 spots off he quickest of the year which also jointly belongs to him.
The next set of Category One events will be off the blocks soon, with the Premier Greyhound Racing Kent Derby looking like it is going to be an outstanding renewal. Scooby The Lady has been superb around there since coming back to action but it was Puppy Classic winner Annadown Warrior who went quickest of Saturday night to throw his hat into the ring.
Sheffield will be hosting the BetGoodwin Steel City Cup next month, a competition that Wicky Ned won in 2024. He is in superb form heading into the 2026 renewal with a pair of Sheffield wins under his belt, a track that has always been a very happy hunting ground for him. He may be a veteran these days but the class is still shining bright.
It was great to see Good Acclaim back in action at Nottingham last Monday night, clocking a very smart 17.55 on his first start for three months. It took his record to 13/16 overall, producing a string of excellent efforts on the clock wherever he goes, with a time just seven spots off his Nottingham best.
Up the A614 and the black hole of phone reception through Sherwood Forest to Doncaster where Look Smart was the pick of the winners on Saturday night. There have only been six quicker times so far in 2026 over the 450m distance than he produced at the weekend, an effort close to the top of his career runs.
On Saturday night at Monmore there was an excellent performance from Ballymac Dixie. She produced a remarkable performance to run down the longtime leader close to the line having not been the shaperst away from the lids and getting a bit of a bump at the opening turn. To then still produce a top 15 time for the year was a superb effort.
For the second week in a row it is a Burrows winner at Hove who takes POW honours, with Burrows Fizz. She had won well over 515m the week before and had no problems with the return to 500m, doing the best of her work late in the day once more to get her head in front close to the line.
Time to explore the north east now and we start with the Friday night win of Ballymac Shontae at Sunderland. Jimmy Fenwick has kept him primarily over two bends over the last six months with a rare foray over further. This was one of those occasions, a second run in a row over 450m, showing that he is more than talented enough to win over both trips.
At Newcastle it was very tempting to give the award to Fabulous Harmony once more for her A1 win on Thursday night as she notched up five successes on the bounce, but the maiden success of Putya Foot Down just edged the vote. He was only marginally quicker but he did it impressively from the front to get the better of a promising type in Crooks On Fire.
There was a decision to be made at Star Pelaw as well, Glenn Foot's sprint winner Caister Kay or his 435m winner Clonlost Dexter. In the end it was the latter who swayed things but either performance would have been more than worthy to top the week.
A week after Headford Cooper tied the quickest time of the year over Harlow's sprint trip, Moaning Hearns went a spot quicker to claim the outright lead. He now has 22 wins in 38 starts, scoring at a 58% clip which is hugely impressive.
Da Man Joey is no stranger to these pages, adding another smart Kinsley success last week in the 140th race of his career. It is his fifth time in the top 20 of the year over the 462m distance which include both the second and fourth fastest of the year.
