Countess Penny takes out the Produce Stakes for Richie Taberner

Taberner takes first Produce Stakes at Towcester

The first running of the BGBF Produce Stakes to be held at Towcester saw a surprise result for punters as Richie Taberner's Countess Penny, the outsider of the field at 18/1, saluted the judge in front. 

Romeo Astron had been first to show for Tom Heilbron, his early pace leading up a Category One final for the second time. The winner showed a nice bit of early herself to turn second, with favourite Harton Whirlwind for Rose Draper just checking off her heels at the opening bend. 

It allowed Countess Penny the first crack at the leader and as his stamina began to ebb away off the final bend, she stayed on stoutly to land the prize in a smart 28.95. Her first win in the four rounds and her best time on the clock, she was clearly prepped to perfection by a kennel that are having another excellent year.

The runner-up filled the same spot in the Puppy Cup at Dunstall Park when picked up by Harton Whirlwind. He has pace to burn, making the final of the Puppy Trophy at Sunderland prior to that and a return to that venue for the Classic in November would make sense. 

Keefill Teak kept on well for third for Phil Milner ahead of Harton Whirlwind. Neither Romeo Arran for Patrick Janssens or told Dinero for Dave Lee were able to get seriously involved.

The other big final on the card went to Kevin Hutton as Magical Jason confirmed the impression that he is a sprinter to be reckoned with in the Elite Southern Supplies Northamptonshire Sprint. He didn't come away as well as he can but his pace up to the corner is sensational, quickly having things well in control.  

There was a double on the day for Hutton as Velvet Joe picked up a 460m contest later on the card. As race debuts go, this was an impressive one, putting the race to bed within a matter of strides down the back to come away by four lengths. He is an October 24 whelp so connections have been patient with him, clocking 26.52, just 30 spots off the clock.

Although Heilbron was out of luck in the two feature contests, Romeo Liberty made sure the trip back north was a happy one with an impressive all-the-way success, stopping the clock in 28.75. That was the fastest of the day over 500m having been knocked out the Produce Stakes in the semis. 

There was a welcome return to winning ways from Droopys Plunge who sported the same red jacket as when winning the final of the 2025 Derby. He needed all of the 500m to deny Hutton a treble with Jazzy Duke getting collared late on. It was only the second race for the winner since November and he's fully entitled to step forward on that again. 

Over six bends there was a win for Seamus Gaughan and Java Joan. She got herself to the front early on and just kept turning the screw from there to score by more than four lengths. A bet365 Hunt Cup finalist back in March, she has been a little in and out since but she showed her class here. 

An early lead was required for Burberry Girl to get the job done for Cornelius Condon, getting away from them in the early stages, she was chased down hard by Mark Wallis's Stitched Pockets with a fair gap back to the third. The winner did everything right and was rewarded for that with the win but it's not hard to think that the runner-up is going to be a serious performer in the future. 

Esther Driver got in on the winning act with Skyfall Khan who arrived off the back of a strong run in the semis of the Arc Birmingham Cup at Dunstall Park. He had picked up opens at Nottingham and Sheffield already this year, showing a good attitude to drive to the front at the third bend after being headed.

The other open winner on the afternoon was Jazzy Mia for Heather Dimmock. She had gone almost four months without a win but has found her form again of late, picking up her third success from her last five starts. 

Bono sets Welsh Derby standard

The opening round of the Star Sports Welsh Derby saw Clongeel Bono as the quickest of the heat winners for Christian Darch in the final race of the day. He has been a win machine of late for the kennel, winning four straight and five of his last six. A very slick 4.49 split set him on his way and he was not to be for catching in his current heart off that kind of sectional. 

Michael Burton picked up a double in the heats, led by Face The Storm. He is proving to be a very useful performer around this venue, adding a 460m success to the three that he had prior over 645m. He didn't get to the front until late in the day but when he did, he powered clear in impression fashion.

Magical Hawk was the other winner for Burton, keeping things a little more simple having picked up an early lead and gaining enough ground on the favourite Sawpit Signature to hold off that runner late in the piece. Just three-quarters of a length separated Magical Hawk from a spot in the Puppy Classic final at Nottingham, so he is a smart type in his own right. 

The surprise in the heats for bettors was the 16/1 victory of Craig Marston's Blackstone Ten. He showed the best pace to the bend to get himself home in front in a heat that contained the ante-post favourite Anglesey Milo. Nathan Hunt's runner made it safely through to the next round in third. 

A rather more expected heat winner for punters was Romeo Victor. Steven Howard's charge showed some nice trackcraft to cut back to the inside of the early leader off the second bend having been wide of that runner going in. That gave him the position he needed to take up the running at the third bend to win the race. 

The last of the heat winners to discuss is Fastlane George for Donna Davy who had won the first of the heats. He led his field up courtesy of a 5,47 sectional which had his rivals struggling from an early stage to keep up. He would eventually come home six lengths to the good over his nearest pursuer. 

There was another win for Marston on the undercard as Sadele backed up her sprint win from a week ago with another. She has pretty of straight line speed which took her to the front to avoid the trouble behind her and land her third open race success. 

Frank Bryce picked up a double with Baggios Wildcat taking the six-bend contest. He needed most of the 645m to get his head in front of Sheep Dip Jim who had given things a good go from the front but the pup on his staying debut was not to be denied, bringing up a treble of wins in the process. 

Baggios Bliss also left it late to get her head in front for Bryce, though this time it was in a sprint contest. An April 25 baby, she had won an A5 last time out over the 460m distance but had no issues dropping back to a sprint (where she had formerly won a D2 contest) to pick up her first open. 

James Danahar took the other open on the card with Quivers Quest. She is not the most prolific winner, getting her head in front just once in her last 20 starts prior to this one but she had little problem putting a wide margin into her rivals on this occasion. 

Three doubles at Sheffield

Another Sunday at Sheffield and another afternoon with multiple successes on the card for Jimmy Fenwick. Wicky Ned continued to build towards the BetGoodwin Steel City Cup with another smart display over 500m. He popped out in front and from there on, it was game over for his opponents, the veteran putting them to the sword from the lead. 

Rolo Genie took the final race on the card to give Fenwick his double. He was helped by having his six-bend kennelmate Brunson Bubble as his main rival on the rails, comfortably outspeeding that one to the bend and gaining enough of a lead to hold off the late challenge. 

Rose Draper grabbed a brace as well with Brickhill Patsy continuing the excellent start to her career. It was a fourth win from her first six starts, backing up a success over the same 480m last week in the heats of this minor competition. She has the pace to win sprints around here but she says this far absolutely fine, running riot by eight lengths. 

The same away and gone tactics were used in a puppy contest by Draper's Honey Trigger. He was also picking up win number four for his career, those coming in his last five starts with a length second in the other one of those. Bred on the same lines as Cesarewitch finalist Ela Maestro, it will be interesting to see how far he can go. 

The third trainer to pick up a pair of winners on the Sheffield card was Brian Fairbairn. Grouchos Hawk landed a little bit of a surprise in a six-bend contest, though there was certainly nothing wrong with the way he went about his business. Away and gone from his field at an early stage, he clocked a solid 39.25 on his first look at Owlerton. 

Skye The Boss was also making his Sheffield debut, taking a little while longer to come to grips with his different surroundings but ultimately coming home strongly to grab the win late in the day. He has won a pair of A2 contests at Newcastle back in January but had been in the wilderness a little since, hopefully this can spark him back into form at home as well. 

There was another win at this venue for William Hamilton's Jacktavern Turbo. He made it three in a row at Sheffield, seeing off Magical Keith who had been a very impressive winner here himself on his most recent visit. The market got it right and both look capable of playing a role in the Steel City Cup.

Gary Griffiths was out of luck with Magical Keith but he landed a spring with Ruinthelonggame. He has been picking up plenty of wins at his home track of Monmore in recent months, carrying that form over to this different venue to dip under 16 seconds on his first visit. 

Stephen Naylor was responsible for the other open race sprint winner on the afternoon with Tromora Pine. With the kennel earlier on in the year, he had gone to Katie O'Flaherty at Romford but the sharper track never really looked to suit him. This was just his second run back at Sheffield, picking up his first sprint having been a 500m runner in the past.