Chip leads the way again in the Arc Puppy Trophy

Annadown Chip flies to Sunderland win

The semis of the Arc Puppy Trophy saw Annadown Chip set the second quickest time seen at Sunderland over 450m this year. Maxine Locke's charge was the quickest of the heat winners and maintained his dominance over the competition overall with a 26.76 display. Slingshot Poppy is the greyhound to have gone quicker, but only by six spots. 

He managed that time despite getting a bump out of the traps, coming clear by four and three-quarters lengths from Jimmy Fenwick's Taylor The Best who ran a stormer of a race to keep tabs on one of the most promising pups in the country for so long. 

Tom Heilbron picked up the second fastest of the semis with Romeo Astron. He showed the best gears to get himself to the front, a move that was crucial as his main market rival found a bit of early trouble. That was Locke's Annadown Wendy who closed the gap to a length at the line. 27.10 was the winner's time.

Mossend Magic had taken the opening semi for George Power, getting herself to the front late on in a race where the first four home were covered by a hair over a length. She had been runner-up to Annadown Chip in the opening round, chased home last night by Mustang Fashion for Carol Weatherall to round out the finalists.

The other Category Two event on the night was the BGBF British Bred Cup where there was an almighty shock for punters in the first semi as Tom Heilbron's Romeo Victor greeted the judge first at 33/1. A 27 spot improvement on his sectional from last week was a massive help to him to see off Greenwell Tyson and Keefill Goose for John Flaherty and Phil Milner resepctively. 

Credit to the Dan Brabon team for making the long drag up from Kent for this competition, rewarded with the winner of the other semi-final with King Floyd. Milner's Keefill Rocky had shown the best pace to the line but Floyd paced to the bend to take up the running. Fardoe Sleek grabbed the final qualifying slot for Raymond Hale. 

On the undercard there was a third winner for Heilbron with Little Pretender. He was unfortunate last week to draw an opening heat of the Puppy Cup that contained two of the three semi-final winners but he made no mistake, leading up off a 4.94 split, before roaring clear by five lengths.

There was also another winner for Power, closing out the night with a sprint success from Mossend Fox. He had won on his debut for the kennel over 435m at Star Pelaw in April, showing plenty of consistency since. The drop to two bends from four was certainly no issue for him, his 15.55 just 21 spots off the quickest of the year so far. 

A sprinter who is starting to build a tidy C.V on the northern circuit is John Watson's Kilshenane Diva. She was a single spot off the Star Pelaw track record last Saturday, making it five wins in seven starts for Watson with victory last night. A September 24 puppy, she is going to be an interesting one to watch and see just how good she could be.

Dean Blackbird had the other winner on the card, a sprint contest won by Westforth Avayla. She was a 14/1 chance but she was away smartly from the outside draw and with the benefit of being wide, she kept away from some trouble at the opening turn. 

408/1 Romford treble for Martyn Wiley

It was a tricky night for punters last night at Romford but it was an excellent evening for the Martyn Wiley team. Things had been a bit of a struggle of late for Brindle Moon, dropping down from A1 to A3 to regain the winning thread but he showed the most get up and go to the opening turn over 400m to get his head in front in an open race for the first time since a sprint win in May of last year.

The evening closed with a win for Unmistakable, who like his kennelmate, had his trapping boots on and was able to get a clean sight of things on the front end. He has hit a decent seam of form in recent weeks, winning for the fourth time in his last nine starts, adding to his most recent victory, a Central Park success from earlier on this month.

At 20/1, Miami Yeats was the least expected of the three Wiley winners according to the market but he forced his head in front at the opening bend of a 575m contest and didn't look back. It was a third open race success of the year over track and trip for him.

Quickest of the night over six bends was Seamus Cahill's Powerhouse Duke. A bet365 Hunt Cup finalist earlier on in the year, the pick of his form has come at his home track of Hove over 695m. He took until the turn for home to get his head in front but soon powered clear to land the money in 35.28.

Over 400m it was Piemans Goalie for David Mullins who set the standard with a 23.86 success. He will turn veteran on July 1 but there is no sign of him slowing down anytime soon, picking up his eighth open race win of the year. He is 12 starts away from 100 for Mullins. at 85 in total having run in Ireland three times. He has won 35 of those contests!

Zenith Ottoman had kicked off a double for Mullins in the second race of the evening. Unlike her kenenlmate, she is far from a regular scorer, getting her head in front for the first time since January. She came away better than can sometimes be the case, and with her stamina over longer trips assured, she was never going to be coming back to them, crossing the line more than three lengths clear.

Katie O'Flaherty's Rock Me Rosemary was a smart 400m winner, adding to an already remarkable record. She has won 12 of her 20 career races now, 2/3 in Ireland. 3/5 when with Kate Harrison and 7/12 for O'Flaherty. Her early pace is a potent weapon, producing a 3.64 split on her way to victory on this occasion.

There was a newcomer unleashed by Roy Peckham on the card in Duffin Dermy. He was S0/A1 at Shelbourne in the spring, making his UK debut in a sprint contest, running out a 13.48 victor. A half-brother to the 2024 English Puppy Oaks winner Yahoo Maizy, he showed plenty of speed to get off the mark.

John Mullins got a winner on the board over 575m with Always Wrighty. It was her start to life over six bends, holding off Maxine Locke's Finally Matched by three-quarters of a length. The winner was adding to a 400m success at this track as well as open race wins at Yarmouth and Towcester. 

There was plenty of early pace across the lineup of a bitches contest where Bretons Girl held off the cavalry late on for Nathan Hunt. It was a messy contest that saw a pair come down at the opening bend but the winner had got herself clear of that with a 3.64 split to go around in front. 

Elvis Bay picked up a win for Paul Young, another to make every post a winning one. He appreciated the return to the 400m distance having found 575m stretching his stamina to breaking point in recent outings. Ironically, the odds-on favourite in the contest was one for Martyn Wiley, his shortest priced runner on the evening.

The night started with a surprise for punters as Mucky Boreen took the opener for Allison Kelly-Pilgrim at 25/1. He had looked a decent recruit last spring, winning four of his first seven starts before making the semis of the Silver Salver. This was his first open race win since May of last year, picking up a trio of A2s and an A3 in the interim.