British Performance of the Week - 28 July 2025

Gingers crowned Pall Mall Prince

Any questions about how far Rioja Oisin stays were answered on Saturday night at Oxford. At best 449 metres, more realistically, about 420 metres. None of which should take anything away from the Pall Mall winning run of Gingers Prince. Patrick Browne’s 7/1 shot had to show track craft, bottle, and no shortage of ability to beat the 11/8f on merit in 26.43 (-10) – an identical time and going to Oisin’s run in the semi-finals where Prince had been beaten three lengths. A mention too for Antigua Kestrel with the fastest ‘650’ of the year, 39.22 (-15). 

Ballymac Blanco, who went out of the Pall Mall in the opening round was Monmore’s quickest middle distance winner last week with a 28.17 run for the ‘480’. But on a tight call, we’ve gone for another of Saturday’s open race winners, Heres Ringo. The second fastest hound ever over Yarmouth’s 659m didn’t trap as well as he might (he did a 16.06 sectional at Yarmouth) but led at the fourth and won a 630m open in 37.86. He has probably left at least three lengths on the track. You’d expect him to find them on his second look. But don’t expect any more 8/11! 

Another Hove double header this week with Proper Heiress finding a dozen spots (two if you take notice of the going allowance) in the 515m Sussex Cup semis. The last hound to go quicker was. . .Proper Heiress with a 29.49 run in last December’s Olympic Final. He is one race away from his fourth Cat One win (plus the Juvenile). As for the Regency, Mongys Wild appears established as the country’s top stayer. While kennelmate Garfiney Blaze (who will be a veteran in less than five weeks) clocked 41.47 in the Regency semis (Art Riddler clocked 41.46), Blaze’s kennelmate produced a 41.12 run. It was the best time over course and distance since Blaze’s FOY in 2024, 41.12. Not bad for a dog who will comfortably run another half lap.  

A lack of recent opens at Valley played to Swindon’s favour on Tuesday with duplicated opens looking a little like inter-tracks with the Welsh venue. The quicker of the two feature events was dominated by Mike Burton who landed the forecast with Droopys Aladdin and Droopys Suprstar. The winning favourite (1/2f), only three races back after reaching the Derby quarter-finals, rode off a first bend bump to win by three lengths in 28.02. 

Daring Moaner had been beaten in her nine previous races when she went to traps as a 2/1f for a Kinsley A3 on Wednesday. To be fair to Dave Fradgley’s black, she wasn’t lacking ability, but early pace. The distance wasn’t ideal for a bitch with 750-yard form in Ireland. Her quickest sectional to date had been a 5.32 which she had clocked twice, last time out and the last time she won in 27.87. So she was always going to clock a time if trapping in front. Thursday was that day. She crossed the sectional in 5.22 and pulled away to win by almost six lengths in the fastest time of the year, 27.47 (+40). 

Last week’s Nottingham selection Loxleys Forest following a 680m heat win duly stepped up to win the Cat Three final a week later. On the night though, he was outshone by Moaner’s kennelmate Stonepark Wes, the faster of Dave Fradgley’s two open winning littermates on the night with a 29.69 (+40) run for the 500 metres. It was a fourth win in his last five races for the 38 kilo (84lb) Eclipse semi-finalist. Incidentally, Wes and Stonepark Abba are from the same litter as Antigua Kestrel mentioned above. 

With the Fradgley team otherwise engaged, there were no Doncaster opens this week. So the attention fell on the week’s quickest middle distance winner Swift Jeromo. Jimmy Gaskin’s blue was never headed when taking an A1 in 29.46 (+10), his fifth win in his last seven outings. A mention too for September pup Snowfall who landed similar grade on the same card in 29.65. 

Not quite sure what to make of Naochra’s Time Northern Flat winning run at Newcastle on Thursday. It was a messy race, won in a moderate time by a former Pelaw A1 regular. That said, John Flaherty’s runner had to graft to hit the front on about three separate occasions and showed plenty of bottle to take the final. But the selection has to be the Sunderland sprint record holder Stonepark Hoffa with the fastest Newcastle sprint win (16.68) in four years. 

Team Roberts were on the money again two nights later when 9/2 chance Brynoffa Pippy set a new track record for the Star Pelaw sprint, 14.28, some five spots inside the previous best, held by Bitzer Maloney. And if you are wondering why she returned at 9/2, look no further than her recent record. It was her first win after 17 successive defeats.  

Sunderland’s Friday night opens were a bit ‘meh’ this week with the fastest ‘450’ of the week, with or without going allowance, was recorded by puppy Witton Williams. Jill Sutherst’s home bred won for the fifth time in just ten races when comfortably seeing off an A1 field in 27.20 (N). Only just back from sickness, there is a sub-27 run coming any day now from the youngest of this week’s selections. 

The gold type was in full flow in Essex this week with Brindle Bully producing a career best run of 23.53 (+10) for the standard trip with his ninth win from 20 races over course and distance. It was the fourth fastest run of the year, some 16 spots slower than Bacon Roll though her clock was recorded on (+30). A mention too for Daring Hoffa whose 13.38 was just six spots outside the quickest sprint of the year. 

Earlier in the day and 25 miles further north, it was the turn of another light brindle, Moaning Hearns, to retain his position as Harlow’s outstanding performer. While his 15.01 run for the 238m was a length and a half back on last week’s outing, it further cemented his position as the track’s top sprinter with four of the five fastest times this year. Darren Whitton’s pup has won his last four and eight of his 11 races since switching from Crayford. 

Last November Bling Bling Musk was running A10 at Crayford. She then switched to Hove, winning an A5 for Derek Knight, before returning to Barry O’Sullivan at his new home at Central Park. She took an instant liking to the place winning an A2 on debut and then back in June, the 24 kilo black hammered an S2 field by eight lengths in 40.76 for the ‘664’. But on Saturday she landed her first ever open race. Really hoping her kennel name is ‘Elleanor’. Go Elleanor Musk! 

At the time that Musk was running bottom grade at Crayford, it would have been reasonable to assume that Shortwood Cloud had found his level at Perry Barr. After all, he had been running there for six months and had risen from A7 to win A3. Not so. Roll on another eight months and the Hall hound has just produced the performance of his career, an eight-length open race win over the track’s six bend course in 40.14. 

Following a winning streak of five, Laugh Alot has finally been dethroned at Yarmouth with a Saturday night defeat behind Who Dares Wins. The favourite didn’t trap as well from a middle draw and moved wide on the run-up. Although she still led, Craig Morris’ black drove past at the third bend to win by a couple. Who dares wins, Rodders! 

Seven members of the Ballymac Bolger/Brownstown Tango litter have won races at Valley this year. The week’s inform performer is one of them, Hawkfield Irish. A 28.16 A1 winner last Autumn, he showed signs of returning to his best form when beating an A3 field in the fastest ‘460’ of the week, 28.23. 

Sunday afternoons normally provide some decent open race action. Not this week. At Towcester the only sub-29.00 run of the week came via a 28.97 run for Bowmers Wildcat in a 500m minor open. It was the final race as a pup for Paul Young’s JR Racing Juvenile Classic finalist. To put the run into some perspective, it was 58 spots outside the track record. 

Sheffield’s only sub-29.00 run for the equivalent distance belonged to the similarly aged A2 winner, Superb Morning. Darren Fretwell’s 10/1 shot has worked his way through the grades from A7 and clocked 28.90 which is 63 spots outside Domino Storm’s clock. A mention too for the week’s sole A1 winner Ballymac Lawless with a 29.03 (+10) run.