British Performance of the Week - 5 October 2026

Heiress leads the weekly winners

It was a special performance from Proper Heiress in the opening round of the Premier Greyhound Racing Kent Derby on Saturday night. Out of race action since the semis of the Derby at Towcester and with the Olympic the big aim for the closing months of the year, it would have been easy to excuse the veteran needing his return. As it was, he produced a new track record, looking every inch the superstar who is the reigning Greyhound of the Year.

Star Pelaw saw semi-final night of the SIS/Star Sports Stewards Cup where Witton Gucci continued her love affair with the circuit. She is yet to taste defeat there, and if she can repeat this run which tied her for the quickest of the year, there is a strong chance that she will still have that record intact following next Saturday night. She is a very smart performer at her best, but will face her biggest test in the final. 

Saturday night also saw the opening round of the Premier Greyhound Racing Oaks at Dunstall Park where Strike It Skye was the only winner to dip under the 28-second barrier. She was still only a pup when making the semis of this competition last year, finishing fourth behind eventual winner Butlers Lane, knocked out despite only being beaten a length in total. One of the top bitches in the country, she is going to be hard to keep away from another deep run. 

Another Category One competition to kick off over the weekend was the BetGoodwin Steel City Cup where Gymcrack finalist Annadown Shadow set the standard. Just nine spots covered the winning times of three of the six heats which suggests we are going to have some tight racing next Sunday as the final 18 come down to six. 

The first Welsh Derby since 1977 concluded on Saturday night at Valley, with Face The Storm taking the win for Mike Burton. Both the venue and Star Sports threw plenty at the competition and were rewarded by a decent crowd and an exceptional winner who had broken the track record in the semis. He clocked another excellent time when it mattered the most despite being last in the early stages. 

There were better performances on the bare clock at Romford last week than the 575m maiden win from Grouchos Gregor, but the six-bend debut was not only an impressive start to life as a stayer but he got the better of his litter brother and Derby finalist Ballymac Ralf in the process. The upcoming Champion Stakes is set to be an outstanding field. 

We have to wait until November for the start of the Classic at Sunderland but last year's finalist Bockos Buster is already producing runs that suggest that he can make the decider once more in 2026. His 26.86 is the seventh fastest of the year over the 450m distance and the first time that he has dipped under 27 seconds there. 

Droopys Plunge made it two wins from three starts since returning from injury, getting back close to his best on the clock at Towcester on Sunday afternoon. There are still some steps that have to be made for him to get close to where he was, but the early signs for the near veteran are good.

The week started with a boom, a Zenith Boom in fact as Nottingham saw a potential staying star in action. A half-brother to Mongys Wild, staying races should be his bread and butter, having just the third run of his life over six bends. Just a September 24, there should be loads to come from him next year once he is matured.

Another who we should be hearing plenty more about as a stayer next year is Candolim Typhoon. The June 24 son of Tommy Shelby has taken to the 695m as well as a Birmingham gangster to a Webley Revolver, overcoming a wider than ideal draw on Thursday night to claim a minor final.   

Doncaster has been a happy hunting ground for Roanna Mamba throughout his career, winning for the 10th time there on Saturday night from a grand total of 10 visits! His time was not as slick as it was the week before and there were some smart efforts over other distances as well on the night, but he is such a consistent and smart performer there that it was hard to look elsewhere. 

Although Naochra was not the quickest winner at Newcastle last week, amongst his vanquished foes was the reigning POW winner Romeo Liberty. The veteran is an easy dog to cheer on in any case, always giving his best and able to win both from the front and behind. Still showing a strong level of form, he is a credit to connections. 

An A1 contest at Yarmouth saw Frankton Grange produce the top run at the East Anglian venue. The pup was making just his seventh start, picking up win number four and a third time already between 27.48 and 27.61. That consistency for one of his age is rare, and there should be more to come. 

There were some solid efforts in the Saturday night opens at Monmore last week but the top run came in a midweek graded race as Tullymurry India saw off three rivals to land a D1. She has won four of her last seven starts now, finishing second twice and third once on the other runs in that span, with this win right up there with her quickest. 

Only one greyhound has covered the 268m at Kinsley quicker this year than Norristown Hydro. That is an impressive effort, notching up a sub 16-second performance. It was only the 20th start in her career and the first time that she has set foot into a D1 contest, narrowly beaten in a D2 the last time that she had run in a sprint.  

At Harlow it was Jayar Rogue who picked up the award for his 415m success. The litter brother to multiple Category One winner Headford Dane has a 400m open race win of his own from back in the day but has settled down well into graded action elsewhere in Essex, winning three of his last four.