British Performance of the Week - 9 November 2026

Veterans rolling back the years

The final of the Coral Gold Collar was a fascinating affair on paper but it was pretty much just one way traffic once Droopys Plunge had trapped out in front. To bring him back from a hock injury after missing 10 months and turning four is difficult,  to win another Category One is truly remarkable. As far as stories go, his was the one that had the most intrigue, hopefully he can get back to Nottingham now for a tilt at the Eclipse which was the original plan from Patrick Janssens going back to August.

A new Category One kicked off at Harlow on Monday with the SIS Sprint where Headford Sarah produced the pick of the first round heats. She put herself joint top of the year on the clock over the 238m distance with a very fluent display but as with all the runners in this competition, she remains capable of better given how little experience she has had of the track.

One with plenty of track experience is Slingshot Poppy around Sunderland, topping the charts in the first round of the Premier Greyhound Racing Classic on Friday night. This is a track where she has shown some of the best form of her career, and somewhere she has been very hard to beat. The Oaks runner-up is having another superb campaign.

There was a new track record set last week at the Valley where Ashway June claimed the top of the mountain spot over six bends. She has been running well at the venue for a while now, winning seven of her 10 starts. She was a faller in one of those defeats with the other pair coming behind multiple Category One finalist Ballymac Madgie and also Welsh Derby winner Face The Storm. 

Swift Hostile is already a track record holder for the sprint distance at Sheffield and he was not a million miles off that clocking on Sunday afternoon when he ran riot by six and a half lengths. 11 spots shy of his own record, it was good enough to put himself Into third on the year as well.

Doncaster has seen some very smart times this year and Tom Heilbron's Toddys Vision produced another one on Saturday night over 450m. His 27.32 was good enough for fifth quickest of the year, though last year it would have put him in second. A mention too for Keefill Bluey who went fourth quickest over the sprint trip last week in a graded race.

There was a stunning debut over six bends at Central Park from Sperrin Mist who got herself back in the win column in style. She had looked worth a go over this far but still had her stamina to prove, but she won by a street in a time that was quicker than Romeo Empire on the same card and he is 12/15 at a track he adores and 7/9 over this 664m distance. 

For the second week in a row the Star Pelaw award goes to Mary Gee. She has really started to show some serious pace to the bend there, looking a very hard bitch for anyone to lead up. It was her sixth win from her last seven starts and the fourth start in her last five where she has dipped under the 5.40 mark on her sectional.

There was open race action on The Box Seat at both Romford and Dunstall Park with Vahbelle taking the award for her 575m success on Wednesday night at the first named. She is all action once her paws hit the sand which is taking her well clear in her races all the while the tracks remind good ahead of the winter. She was two spots in front of Friday's best performer Bubbly Holly.

At Dunstall Park it was Longacres Danny in a sprint who showed the pick of the form on Wednesday. Pat Doocey is having an excellent time of things with his sprinters and Danny is one who has done particularly well since coming over from Pat Curtin. 

The Other Winx was back over six bends at Monmore on Saturday night for the first time in three months having made the semi-final stage of the Premier Greyhound Racing Oaks in the meantime. She showed some of her best form at this venue back in February when making the final of the Ladbrokes Golden Jacket. 

It is now back-to-back weeks that Jazzy Duke has picked up the POW award at Towcester, dipping under 29 seconds on Sunday afternoon. His runner-up form prior to that was behind the likes of Droopys Plunge and Forgottotellya which has worked out well, showing plenty of ability in those starts as well as the wins. 

There are some very smart wins in the career of Kereight Fraud and last week was another. She had been close to winning the POW award last week for her Monday win but finishing second on Saturday behind Always Wrighty saw that bitch take the award. This time it was a Wednesday run for Kereight Fraud and she produced another very smart winning run.  

It was good to see Zenith Tanju bounce back to form last week, winning for the first time since June. The 2025 Derby finalist got the better of Fabulous Harmony who has been in this column plenty of times herself. She even produced her second best split over 480m which gives the winner more credence that he was still able to beat the strong-running wide.  

Continuing the theme of veterans, there was a very smart win at Nottingham from Phoenix Cowboy who took an A2 contest last Monday for Barry Denby in a time far superior to any of the opens on the card. He found his trapping boots again to produce his best effort since March.

There were some quick times at Kinsley last week over both two and four bends with Grumpy Amber just getting the nod for her win over the longer trip. Her last six runs had all come in opens at Doncaster so the return to graded company at her home track was a simpler assignment.