Doubles all around the country on Sunday

Wallis doubles up at Towcester

There were only four opens on the afternoon card at Towcester, but that was still more than enough for Mark Wallis to pick up a pair of winners. Five railers went to post in arguably the most competitive race of the afternoon, with Rackethall Brute coming out on top. Carrigoon Milo led most of the way, succumbing on the run-in to King Memphis who was then nailed close to the line by the winner. 

Bower Aoibhin got off the mark in the UK last week at Romford over six bends, looking to take plenty of confidence from that first success back to Towcester to land another success. She has much more stamina than her litter brother, Tom Heilbron's speedy Bower Sheeran, who looks to have got all the early pace. 

Kevin Hutton had Droopys Berries get the job done for him in another 500m contest. It was a race that had plenty of early speed to his right and he just had to take a sit at the opening bend to go around unscathed and wait patiently for a gap to open up on the inside which it did around the final bend. 

There was plenty to like about the sprinting runs from Ari Up but Carol Weatherall's youngster has taken her level up a few notches since stepping up to 500m. She blitzed an A2 field last week, stepping up into open race company for the first time. A slower break meant that she had to really dig deep, only fourth exiting the backstraight, but she showed plenty of courage to nose up the inside and come home to grab the win late on. 

Roberts at the double at Sheffield

Savva Roberts was the man to double up on the afternoon card at Owlerton with Droopys Trigger and Born Scooby both successful. The first of those was marking his first day without puppy status with a win. The Arc Northern Puppy Derby semi-finalist now has seven wins in his first 16 starts. 

Born Scooby has really figured out how to win of late, picking up his third win in four starts having started his career 0/7. His prior win at this track came over the longer four-bend trip and he ground out this success dropped back to 480m.

There was an impressive sprint win from Rockmount Kellie for Craig Morris. She picked up a couple of graded wins at Yarmouth just before Christmas, showing some smart early gears, and the drop back in trip didn't do her any harm, producing the second quickest time of the year.

The other sprint on the card went to Paul Prior's Colliers Bucholz who continues to rack up the wins at the track. He reversed places with Rental Crisis who had beaten him a short head a week ago, making it four wins in his last five. 

Over 660m, Diane Henry's Savanaregimental produced the quickest win over the distance since Farneys Willie in August 2024. That level of ability has never been in question with him, it is his lack of backing it up that is frustrating, for all that this was his third win of the year so far. 

Dunbolg Formula picked up the final race on the card for Heather Dimmock, producing the best time over 500m in the process. This was his first win away from Towcester where he has an open success to his credit. Hopefully this opens up some more avenues for connections. 

There was a win for Lisa Stephenson in the first open of the afternoon with Sir Chancealot, the biggest priced of the day at 8/1. It was also the closest finish with a pair of short heads separating the first three home. He has taken well to the track, winning three times in his last four starts since joining the Stephenson kennel. 

Rawlings and Jeffrey with Valley doubles

Adrian Rawlings picked up a pair of winners on the Valley card, one each over two and four bends. Ashway Blastoff was sent off at 1/3 for a sprint but in hindsight, that looked a great price as he powered six lengths clear around the outside. 

Ashway June had used similar away and gone tactics in the race before to pick up a 460m contest, extending her winning streak to six in the process. Four of those have come in opens, with the most recent pair coming over six bends. 

It was a similar double for Anna Jeffrey. Hawkfield Jazz was a winner over two bends, powering clear early through the middle of them. He had won four straight D2 contests to kick off the year, with this his first in open company.

Only Live Once was the opening winner for Jeffrey, landing his first race of the year. It was his first open race win since May of last year when he was in the care of Mike Burton.

The quickest sprinting winner of the day was Vanessas Tiger for Paul Maynard. It took him a little longer to get himself to the front compared to other winners on the card but once he got there, he ran way with the contest by four and three-quarter lengths. 

There was one more open on the day which went to Marinas Victoria for Shaun Chappell. It was her ninth win from 26 career starts, 3/9 since joining Chappell's range.