British Performance of the Week - 30 June 2026

Liam lands silver at Central Park while Chip is golden at Sunderland 

The final of the Arena Racing Company Silver Salver at Central Park saw Shadow Storm sent off a warm order but he had to give best to the resurgent Ballinakill Liam who had the pick of the draw and produced a smart break to take full advantage of that starting position. He led home the forecast for Mark Wallis with both he and Pavilion Team making the final for the second straight year.

There was a surprise quickest in the semi-final stage of the 3 Steps To Victory at Sheffield as Fortanach Col claimed the pick of the runs. He had only missed out by a neck on a spot in the quarter-finals of the Irish Derby last year so the class was there, but he had exited the English Derby in the first round on his final run for Liam Dowling. Now in the care of Kelly Wilton, he shapes like he could enjoy his first crack at six bends next week.

At Towcester there was a smart win from Annadown Warrior in the heats of the Orchestrate Juvenile Classic. He was the quickest of the four winners in the puppy competition, though he was a little bit slower on the card than last year's Oaks finalist Fabulous Aria who went a hair over a length and a half quicker than he did. 

Litter brother Annadown Chip took the final of the Arena Racing Company Puppy Trophy at Sunderland on Friday night. He had finished in front of Warrior on Derby final night, with the pair both looking like they could form a strong part of the 'home team' defence back at Towcester next summer.

Moaning Mai Tai was the quickest in the heats of the SIS British Bred Sprint last week at Harlow. There is plenty of smart form in the book including a couple of open race wins at Suffolk Downs, one this year and one last. 

Some may find it hard to get excited about the return of hurdling at Star Pelaw but it is giving Mickeys Tribute plenty of fun. He broke his own track record once more last week as he made it 6/6 at the venue, setting the clock for the fourth time. His hurdle run was quicker than any of those on the flat over the same 435m trip on the same Saturday night card.

It was great to see Droopys Bookem bounce back to winning ways at Newcastle last week, especially with the Northern Flat just around the corner. We have not seen his brilliant best in 2026, but he showed that he still maintains a very high level of form when things go his way, especially at his home venue. 

There was absolutely nothing to split Vialli and Coolruss Ronnie in the heats of a Nottingham sprint competition last Monday night. We all know that it was the latter who came out on top in the final last night at the Colwick Park venue, and the pair are both decent recruits who should win plenty between them during the remainder of the year. 

Just up the M1 in Doncaster, it was Newline Kielty who took the top run of the week prize. She produced the quickest time of any bitch over the 450m distance so far this year, and the fourth fastest overall. There are only 12 races on her card, so there is a strong chance that there is going to be a touch more to come from her in time. 

No opens at Yarmouth but it was another track with a very smart time clocked, Backing It Up slotting into the top 10 with his 27.48 winning effort. It is his fifth win in his last nine starts at the track, another decent type from the same Grangeview Ten X Florence Cake litter that contains Nightingale Crew.

Onto the Entain tracks now, kicking off with Romford where there was no open racing last week. Ten Fold took the honours with an A4 win on Saturday night, going under 24 seconds to produce the quickest run of his career so far. An A1 runner to kick off the year, he has picked up three wins in A3 grade between then and now, dropping to A4 for the first time in 12 months. 

Hove saw a win for Yougo Freddie who was having just his second run back from a break of three months. He was picking up a sixth top grade win to go with his open race success over the same track and trip as well as one over six bends at Central Park.

At Monmore it was a sprint win from Ballymac Dixie that took the top spot. She only made her race debut in May, dropping back to a sprint trip for the first time under race conditions. She needed every inch to get her head in front of this D2 contest, but stays 480m well enough to split her time between the two trips if that is what connections desire.

Speaking of sprinters, Castell Maggie landed the prize again at Dunstall Park, her second one in June and her third overall this year. She was bringing up a hat-trick of D1 wins in the process, the second time in her career that she has enjoyed three wins on the bounce.  

Pro Cooper added another for the two-bend brigade at Kinsley. He has been in sparkling form of late for Joanne Robinson, picking up his fourth win from his last five starts. He has shown some solid form through his career, a Cat One semi-finalist when with David Mullins and an open race winner at Towcester with Michelle Brown before joining Robinson.

At Valley it was Crokers Harry who took the award for his sprinting effort. He too has four wins on his card from his last five race outings. A smart Sheffield performer for Rose Draper before joining his current kennel with Anna Jeffrey, he is clearly enjoying his time in Wales.