British Performance of the Week - 23 March 2026

Cat One racing galore last week

Two Category One events concluded last week, starting with the BGBF British Breeders Stakes which went to Romeo Tomcat. He had been turned over in the heats and semis on his return from a break but things worked out perfectly for him on the draw. It was a third straight Category One final for him, winning the Premier Greyhound Racing Kent Derby as well as finishing fourth in the Coral Gold Collar.

At Romford the final of the Coral Golden Sprint went to Bombay Buck who backed up a very smart run in the semis with another excellent effort. The opening round of the competition was his 50th start and the first time that he had set foot in Category One company. It was quite a way to get himself off the mark in his first go at this level.

Three further Category One events hit the semi-final stage this week. Scooby The Lady went quickest again in the Arena Racing Company Kent Plate and will get to take on the likes of Proper Heiress in the final. Win, lose or draw, she has improved massively since the turn of the year and now tries to follow her litter sister Scooby Diamond (Coral Puppy Cup) onto the list of Cat One winners.

There are some cracking youngsters at present in Britain but you'd be hard pushed to find one who has the same crackle of excitement about him as Underground Gold. He will be sent off as favourite in the final of the Ladbrokes Puppy Derby on Saturday night and the bookies are already scared of him heading to Towcester after that for the Derby, with nobody bigger than 22/1!

Resonate is just the market leader in the bet365 Hunt Cup at Oxford after producing the quicker of the two semi-final times on Saturday night. She will take on her third final at the top table having made the Brighton Belle and Challenge Cup deciders in 2025. 

There was just the second sub 28-second time of the year at Dunstall Park as Not So Steady laid down claims to a strong Laurels campaign. Runner-up in the JR Racing Juvenile Classic last year, he is no stranger to taking on the top dogs in the Cat One events and should give Craig Morris plenty of fun this year.

It was great to see Stonepark Hoffa back in race action for the first time since September over the weekend at Sheffield. He transitioned seamlessly back into winning ways with the second quickest sprint time of the year, just the new track record of Swift Hostile has been quicker, that runner running with huge credit in the Golden Sprint final. 

The only dog to win a race that has contained Scooby The Lady in that bitches last seven starts is Raebella Bullet. The Oaks finalist was a Hove winner last week and will surely be part of a very strong looking Brighton Belle lineup next month for what will be an outstanding competition. 

Speaking of super bitches, Laugh Alot has rattled off a serious sequence at Suffolk Downs. She's a '21 whelp but is still performing at a decent level for Jane Craske and will set about trying to make it seven wins in a row this week at the Mildenhall venue. 

There were some decent runs at Star Pelaw on Sunday evening with the vote narrowly going to Saleen Ri. He has been a while between drinks but his successful effort yesterday was exceptional given the fact that he missed the kick before flying to the bend and scooting around the outside. 

Doncaster was another track that saw some good runs but a new fastest of the year over the sprint trip won the POW award for Ballarue Rolo. Given the likes of Colliers Bucholz, Toddys Wolf and Rental Crisis has all been around the same 275m this year, it was a smart run.

There will not be many debut runs this year that will make the impression that the one from Forgottotellya at Towcester on Sunday did. Even with the new traps taking 20+ spots off the times, his 28.61 on his first race in the UK stands out as a run right out of the top drawer. He will head to Sheffield now for a tilt at the BresBet Gymcrack. 

Who Dares Wins is a regular in whatever Yarmouth race sees the POW awarded, so it's nice to be able to give it to him this week after his wide-margin win on Saturday. While he might not be the most regular winner, when he does get his head in front, it is normally a thrashing of his opponents. 

Another week of only graded action at Newcastle saw Greenwell Tyson the top performer in an A1 on Thursday night. He has won three of his last five at this level, as always doing the best of his work late on in the day, powering home to pick up the money. 

There were two greyhounds who clocked 27.71 at Kinsley last week, Cloverhill Dove and Killieford Kayla. The former produced the run in a higher grade and on a marginally 'slower' track, so it is one Mark Lyons's bitch ousting the other one to land the POW.

At Sunderland, there was just a single open on Friday night which went to Parkview Sprite. It was a decent field that he saw off, showing the best pace to the bend to turn in front and escaping the trouble which plagued his rivals at the opening turn.

There was a new fastest run of 2026 over 260m at The Valley where Affleck Salsabil clocking a very smart 15.70. It is the fastest of the year so far, with only one time last year going quicker. The going was officially given as +20 which even with that taken into account, is an excellent run. 

It was a strong performance at Harlow as well where Coolemore Azzabi landed a 415m contest. Her win is more than three lengths clear of any other time so far this year and is the quickest that has been seen at the track since the back end of 2023. Interestingly, the quickest of 2023 was Dave Lee's Bluejig Baron who has four wins to his credit in 2026.