Category One competitions dominate the previous seven days in Britain

Top performances from the British tracks last week

Romford on Friday night was meant to be all about the crowning of Magical Luka as one of the top performers on either side of the Irish Sea. As is often the case in greyhound racing, it didn't work out like that and it was Scooby Diamond who proved to be the pick of the bunch in the final of the Coral Romford Puppy Cup. Nathan Hunt's charge was probably not the top performer on the night on bare times but her Category One win is hard to argue against in the context of the performance of the week. 

It was a similar case on Saturday afternoon at Swindon where Romeo Ability went to traps as the 1/3 favourite for the BGBF Produce Stakes. It was the powerful Eagles Respect who came out on top, producing his best sectional at the perfect time to turn right on the heels of the leaders. A strong runner, it was always going to be a tough ask for any rival to pick him up again once he hit the front. 

A Category One final that did go with the betting was the bet365 Empress Stakes on Sunday afternoon at Towcester. Silverhill Freya went unbeaten through the three rounds for Graham Holland, backing up the very smart form that she has shown in Ireland.  

The same can be said for the final of the Click Competitions East Anglian Derby with Romeo Steel landing the short odds for Patrick Janssens. He didn't need to go as quick as he did in the semis when breaking the clock, but he still ran riot by more than fine lengths. 

Semi-finals were held at Nottingham for the Arc Birmingham Cup and the Premier Greyhound Racing St Leger. It was the latter that saw Droopys Flare as the pick of the performers. Connections have always thought plenty of her and she showed off her talents with a beating of the winner of the award last week, Mongys Wild.

It was unfortunate to see the second semi-final of the Yorkshire Derby have to be drawn by straws but winner of the opening semi was Romeo Topcat, picking up his second straight win at the track. He has taken really well to the venue and looks liable to go off as the one to beat on Saturday night.

Just up the road in Sheffield, it was Timmys Hunter who took the prize with a solid 28.71 performance on their Sunday afternoon card. There were also a string of invitational races on Friday night which will be stronger as the weeks go by if the level of money on offer remains the same. 

There have been some gaps on the card of Headford Dane since he burst onto the scene in the Ladbrokes Puppy Derby at Monmore back in March. He returned to land the Ladbrokes Gold Cup at the Wolverhampton venue in August and produced the top run of the week at Central Park on Saturday night. He stays four bends well and will be well fancied to go a long way in the upcoming PGR Kent Derby. If team Locke can keep him healthy, he is surely a major player in the 2026 English Greyhound Derby.

Speaking of Wolverhampton, we are yet to see an open race at Dunstall Park but the A1 on Friday night saw Glenrock Ace produce the run of the week. His 28.32 record is not going to last long with the Oaks upcoming but he was one of the top locals at Perry Barr and has slotted straight into the same position in his new surroundings.

An issue at Star Pelaw only saw about half of the Sunday night card run but it was plenty long enough for Jason Smith's Westfield Bullet to clock a winning time just 15 spots off the sprint clock. Given that he missed the break and eased a hair into the opening bend, it was a superb performance form the veteran who has won four of his last five opens. Only the red-hot Rental Crisis has got the better of Churchfield Syd's litter brother in that time.

Speaking of sprinters, Stonepark Hoffa showed he is more than comfortable over four bends as well as two, clocking an easy win over Sunderland's 450m distance. He was a comfortable winner in the heats of a dual distance competition the week before and landed the final by a couple of lengths.

Completing the whistlestop tour of the tracks of the north east is Saleen Ri at Newcastle. He has only had a pair of starts at the track since coming over from Ireland, winning both. He signed off with a 28.57 Tralee win and has brought that level of form with him having joined David McLaughlin.

Another who has not had many opportunities for a new kennel is Noellie who broke her maiden tag at Hove. She has joined Paul Young after a promising 28.55 Dundalk success back in early August. She is a litter sister to Droopys Poker who split Romeo Ability and Romeo Alliance in the final of the JR Racing Puppy Trophy at Towcester.

It was a weaker set of races at Monmore than is normally the case but there was still a solid run for Coologue Pest taking out an A1 contest. The veteran has won his last three top grade races, including a pair of D1s in August. It was that sprinting speed that won him his 480m race last week.

There was a similar story at Oxford where the graded action saw Grantstown Cross as the pick of the performers. He has found his trapping boots of late and his 26.80 was produced on a track rated -20 which ups the level of performance.

Conditions were quick at Kinsley all week so judging the relative merits of the sprint runs against the four bends and the handicap efforts is tough. We have given the nod to Grovenor Bigsox who is one of just six hounds who have dipped under the 16-second barrier for the 268m so far in 2025.

At Valley it was Quivers Rafa who took the prize. He was very close to breaking the 28-second barrier in both April and May, so although he was some way shy of that level of time last week, it was a welcome return to winning ways for him.

Rains Bono is the final winner this week, producing the best of the bunch at Harlow. The Essex venue was another track that was running on the quick side for the majority of last week. Debbie Hurlock's black has hit a rich groove of form in recent weeks, backing up his winning run from the week before.