British Performance of the Week - 6 April 2026

Vhagar leads the way with her Sunderland romp 

The Grand Prix at Sunderland has been a very happy hunting ground for Mark Wallis in recent years. Vhagar was odds-on before the competition started and is now a general 1/3 to take the competition. She was a long way clear all of her rivals on the clock in the opening round on Friday, a hair under five lengths off her former kennelmate New Destiny's track record.

There was also Category One action at Dunstall Park with the Arena Racing Company Laurels but the times over 480m have rather fallen off a cliff of late which is odd as the sprinters like Good Acclaim are still notching up smart runs. Stuart Tighe's runner is a warm order to finish off a clean sweep in the competition on Saturday night. 

We are less than four weeks away from the start of the Star Sports and Orchestrate Ltd English Greyhound Derby and there will be very few in the field who are capable of living with Graham Holland's Swords Style in the early stages. He is an electric trapper and produced a very smart effort on Sunday afternoon. 

There is plenty of quality in the kennel of Paul Young at the moment. Underground Gold has been getting all the plaudits, and rightly so after his Ladbrokes Puppy Derby win but Gav Nificent was spectacular in a Romford victory on Friday night. He's only had three runs in his life and has already stopped the 400m clock there in 23.70 and 23.61.

Princess Matilda has produced some very smart form in 2026. A Cesarewitch finalist, she briefly held the 664m track record at Central Park, returning to the track on Saturday night to run riot in another staying contest. Runner-up Bogger Cash has been producing a strong level himself but he was no match for the in form bitch.

There was some decent quality at Hove as the bitches prepare to take centre stage for the Coral Brighton Belle. They were overshadowed this week by an excellent 29.16 from Ballymac Axel over 500m. He matched Behemoth's POW winning time from last week to the spot, tying for the fifth quickest of 2026.

Newcastle saw some decent greyhounds in action on Thursday, with Slingshot Poppy producing the pick of the efforts, dropped back to two bends. Things were made easier for her when her main danger missed the break but take nothing away from her as she produced the quickest time of the year, just a length off the track record. 

Sticking with sprinters, Mr Flashy lived up to his name with a decent run at Nottingham on Monday. He had been beaten by Roanna Mamba, Broadway Murty and Good Acclaim on his last three visits to the track, with an ease in company seeing him home in front in a smart time. 

Doncaster was a more difficult decision between a couple of Rose Draper's. Rockmount Lucy has been in all-conquering form over six bends but in the end it was Audience who picked up the prize for the second week running. The 450m distance suits him really well, backing up his fastest of the year from last week with another slick success.

The final winner for now at Suffolk Downs was Gothic Abbess who was deeply impressive on her first try over six bends. 34-second times are the marker of an excellent run over 548m there, breaking that by 10 spots on a slow track, and putting more than 11 lengths into her opposition. 

Six bends at Sheffield saw Loxleys Forest claim the Owlerton award. He was aided by the drop in class having chased home the exceptional staying talent that is Droopys Flare on his last two visits in the heats and final of the Queen Mother Memorial Cup. 

Two sprinters both clocked 14.54 at Star Pelaw last week with the nod going to Fruity Topman and his Tuesday success. Runner-up to him on Tuesday night was Caseys Dylan who produced the other 14.54 when winning on Sunday. 

The Yarmouth A1 that contains Who Dares Wins is normally the race that will win POW at the Norfolk venue. His 28.25 on Saturday night leads all runners over 462m in 2026, a time just 21 spots off Romeo Steel's track record from last year. It was a fine run for a dog who is only three months away form being a veteran.

After the excitement of the Ladbrokes Puppy Derby in recent weeks, it was back to graded action at Monmore where Longacres King produced the pick of the efforts in a sprint contest. The artist formerly known as triple Category One finalist King Jackson stopped the clock in the quickest time that he has managed since joining Pat Doocey.

Oxford finished their current racing schedule with Showemyourtail as the top performer of the week. Her 15.07 D1 win compared well on the clock to the recent Cat Two Sandy Lane sprint competition, and she only lost her puppy status at the start of this month.

27.95 in an A4 winning effort was enough to see Swift Ecology claim POW at Kinsley. She is a half-sister to Sheffield track record holder Swift Hostile and a litter sister to multiple Central Park open race winner Martindale Lad, so it is no surprise that early pace is her weapon of choice, winning for the seventh time in her career.

A regular on here at The Valley is Epic Evelyn. She mixes two and four bends to great effect, grabbing the fifth quickest time of 2026 with her 460m last week to go along with her 11th fastest of the year over 260m from back in February.

Tinks Jester rounds out the week with his Harlow success. His winning time was a single spot off the quickest of the year so far, picking up his third win in his four starts since returning from five months off.