Draper lands Dunstall Cat One with a Whirlwind finish

Picture from Dunstall Park X feed

A maiden Category One win for Rose Draper

The final of the BGBF British Bred Puppy Cup was the feature contest on Saturday night and it was a race of changing fortune. Romeo Astron had got himself to the front at the opening bend for Tom Heilbron but backers of the favourite would not have been happy to see Rose Draper's Harton Whirlwind follow him through as his closest pursuer as they set off down the back. 

There was a brief moment turning for home that the winner briefly questioned whether to go inside or outside the runner-up and that could have cost him momentum, but with the outside route chosen, he put his head down and grabbed the winner in the final couple of strides.

Aero Clipper had briefly led on the run to the opening bend, sticking to her guns well for Richie Taberner, finishing third, the only bitch to make the decider. Keefill Sequoia ran fourth for Sean Parker, Bonville Kane came home in fifth for Maxine Locke with Untold Dinero rounding out the field for Dave Lee.

Locke had better luck in the final of the Arena Racing Company Stayers Cup, but not with the one that punters would have expected. Bluejig Outlaw was sent off a warm market leader but he made it 2/2 for the odds-on favourites getting turned over in the Dunstall Park finals. 

Instead, it was Droopys Scratch who lifted the prize, taking advantage of a slow exit from her kennelmate to grab the lead off the second turn and never see another rival from there. Bluejig Outlaw ran on well to grab second, but he never had a chance to pick up the winner. Venetian Mick rounded out the podium for Kevin Hutton.

On the undercard, there was a pair of winners for Hutton, both producing impressive clocks. They were kicked off by Magical Jason who made his English debut in a maiden sprint and promptly gave his rivals a running lesson in 15.82. He produced the quickest 400y time of the year at Dundalk on his only start in Ireland, so is clearly a force to be reckoned with. 

Signet Nayla was the other winner for Hutton, showing the best pace to the opening turn to take pole position in what looked a decent contest. She put more than four lengths into her field, crossing the line in 28.15. She was a semi-finalist in the Oaks over track and trip last autumn and has perhaps laid down an early marker for the 2026 renewal. 

There was also a double for Kim Billingham-Hine. Pain Barrier looked to have a tough enough draw on paper in the black jacket but for the second start on the bounce he overcame that hurdle with early pace winning the day. Four of his six wins for the kennel have come over the 480m distance at Dunstall Park.

Beatties Lyra brought up the double, landing a messy sprint final. She too showed the best pace from the boxes to go around in front, a position that allowed her to avoid all of the trouble behind her at the second bend. Filling the runner-up slot four straight times prior to last night, she picked the perfect time to get her head back in front. 

Another messy sprint contest saw Brickhill Tamika make up for a luckless first bend at Nottingham on Monday night for Stuart Tighe. He has shown the suitability of Dunstall in the past when making the final of the Dash here back in April, making it five wins in 11 starts for the kennel.

Taberner was responsible for the fastest 480m winner of the night with Holding Blaze stopping the clock at 28.04. He had not got his head in front since the opening round of the Winter Derby at Monmore back in March, so he was not winning out of turn, beating a strong field that included Start The Engine, No Better Feelin and Ballymac Blanco.

The evening opened with a sprint contest, with First Ambition getting his head in front for John Rigby. He has worked his way up the graded ladder over both two and four bends at the track, making the breakthrough at open class level to give the kennel their first open race winner of the year with their first runner.

Esther Driver was on the mark with Poppea Tinner in a bitches contest. May was the last time that she had got her head in front, just getting the better of a battle with Kilwest Beauty around the opening turn to poke her head in front. 

The other open on the night was a six-bend contest which saw Moyar Princess greet the judge in front for David Welding. Making her debut over the trip, she popped out in front and that was all she wrote. The field got close to her a couple of times but each time that they did, she dug in and found a little bit extra.

Flare and Tarquin set Hove standards

Head of the ante-post market ahead of the Coral Regency heats was Droopys Flare and she made no mistake for Sean Parker, going 35 spots quicker than anything else on the night, despite not picking up the lead until they went past their start point. From there, she gapped her rivals by more than 11 lengths in a spectacular display of pace and stamina.

Second fastest in the heats was Belinda Green's Teddie. Fresh off making the final of the Coral Coronation Cup for the second straight year, she set her stall out early with a very smart 14.05 split. She has only gone this far once in her life when third to Tooreen Rose on Derby final night, but she had no issues once the strong running Bubbly Evie failed to find a clear run early on.

Green doubled up with the surprise of the heats as Swift Jarvis gave punters an 18/1 shock. He has long been a smart performer over this track and trip but he does give the impression that he is the type who needs things to fall just right for him. They did last night in a race where four of the six runners had their noses in front at one point in the race, he stayed on best to grab the win close home.

It was an excellent evening for Seamus Cahill, with Powerhouse Duke kicking off his night, just getting the better of a tussle with Green's Bonus Bullet. The runner-up had set the early fractions and kept just enough of a gap up her inside that the winner wanted to head that way, eventually getting through when it opened up off the final bend.

There was a return to six bends for Chasing Rachel who had looked such a promising stayer in the making for Heather Dimmock earlier on in the year. She found herself out in front at the opening bend, having to dig deep to hold off Paul Young's Bowmers Buddy who was making his staying debut just six days after the final of the Betway Juvenile Classic. 

Jason Heath was responsible for the other heat winner in Burrows Charm who just about got himself far enough ahead to hold off the late charge of Green's Bella Bullet, giving that kennel four into the semis. The winner didn't make the step up to six bends until January, making the semis of the Essex Vase before breaking the 664m clock at Central Park. 

Another who was just a week on from a Category One final was Tiffield Tarquin. He had run his heart out to chase home Bikini Bullet in the final of the Coral Coronation Cup just eight days prior but came out fresh as a daisy to set the quickest time in the heats of the Coral Sussex Cup. He is now in possession of the two fastest 515m times of the year at Hove for Roy Peckham. 

This track and trip has the potential to really suit Droopys Graph. Not seen in race action since the third round of the Derby, he didn't look to have any ring rust to knock off as he clocked the only other sub 30-second time. Already a Cat One finalist in the Arc Kent Plate, this was only the 16th start of his life and 14th for Patrick Janssens. 

To go along with a Regency winner, Seamus Cahill picked up a pair of Sussex Cup heats, with his Brighton Belle heroine Blackstone Opera the quicker of the pair. She was 16/1 to win that Cat One final but just 4/9 last night to get her campaign off to a successful start in this top class affair, pacing up the inside best to the opening bend. 

Moving Force had just three rivals to beat in his heat, and with all of them being railers, he had acres of space in which to operate around the wide outside. He stays this trip well and is a dual Cat One finalist but it was still a very smart run to pick up the slick-starting Copney Queen who had shown the best speed to the opening turn for Paul Young.

Young got some measure of compensation as Droopys Alldeway took the final heat. He got himself to the front at the opening bend, sliding up the inside of the wide runner Behemoth to get on the bunny, and from that point, he was always going to hold off his field. 

Richard Rees took the other heat with Avarua Zlatan who has done some great work since heading back over four bends again. He is another with a pedigree at this level, making the final of the Ladbrokes Gold Cup 11 months ago. 515m around here is as far as he wants to go but when he can produce a 4.33 split, he is hard to hold. 

Taberner treble at Monmore

It. was an excellent night for the Richie Taberner team. Aero Clipper ran her heart out in the puppy final at Dunstall and just down the road at Monmore there was a treble for the kennel with Aero Pepinillo, Adelinesfirstdog and Slick Sabre all doing the business. 

Aero Pepinillo kicked off the winners with a win over 630m for the second consecutive week. He has made a couple of Cat One semis in his time, and although he was not the most regular winner earlier on in his career, he has really found the winning thread in recent weeks.

A puppy contest saw Adelinesfirstdog make the breakthrough at open race level, backing up a win in an A3 contest when last in action. That graded win had seen him getting off the mark at the seventh time of asking, and the confidence form that led to a gutsy win from behind. 

The treble was completed in the final race of the night as Slick Sabre powered clear from the final bend having been given a perfect second hare to chase in Mark Wallis's Allowdale Risoto. The winner was making his debut for Taberner after an Irish career that saw him in the decider of the Select Stakes at Waterford in early May. 

Last week the star of the show at Monmore was Zenith Pasha and it will be hard to argue that he was not so again for Jimmy Fenwick. He didn't hit the front quite as early on as he had a week back, and gave the impression that there is still plenty more in the tank from him as he adapts to life over a longer distance. 

A pair of sprints on the card saw the girls on top in both. Longacres Miss was marginally the quicker of the two winners, representing Pat Doocey. She was the quickest into stride and that was all that she required to pick up the win and dip just under 15.50 in the process. 

Scooby Matilda took the other sprint contest for Carol Weatherall, using the same away and gone tactics, this time from the innermost draw. She needed that fast break and instant lead as she had to hold off the late challenge from Pavilion Team who had not come away as well as she had before powering home. 

There was a third 630m open race success for Kim Billingham-Hine's Onceina Lifetime who got his head in front close to the line in a three-way go, with just a neck and a short head separating the first three across the line. Newinn Aero chased him home for Maxine Locke, going past the longtime leader himself but not quite getting to the winner. 

Locke had been on target earlier on in the card with Headford Cian who had clocked a smart 28.17 success. A 4.33 split saw him just do enough to stay up the inside of Crossfield Enzo at the opening bend and with that navigated, he was able to open up a gap of more than. three lengths by the time the line came. 

The shortest priced winner on the card was Brian Thompson's Shake The Bottle. She has made an exceptional start to life with Thompson, winning six times in eight starts now and finishing second in the other two. It will be interesting to see when connections feel is the right time to step her up in class. 

Toddys Tank kicked off the card with a win for William Hamilton on his first start since leaving the Tom Heilbron range after a journey to the semis of the Time 3 Steps to Victory. He took a fair local scalp in the process, with Wise Tournament chasing him home after a string of success that saw her win seven times in eight starts. 

Locke doubles up at Central Park

Just five open contests at Central Park where Maxine Locke has a pair of winners. Headford Lily has now won on three of her four visits to the Kent venue, too powerful for her rivals from the three-quarters mark, quickly puling more than two lengths clear in short order. 

Annadown Bocko was the other winner for Locke, a December pup making his English debut after three runs at Galway. He made things easy for himself, showing the best pace to the opening bend, not looking to have a moment of bother from that point on.

Quickest of the winner on the card was Dave Lee's Brunch Pal who is proving to become a bit of a legend here. This was win number 10 at the track from just 12 starts, making it six in a row here on his first start after the opening round of the Coronation Cup.

The other two opens on the card were both over two bends with Cronody Zuma the quicker of the two winners. He has been in decent form of late for Nick Carter, getting the better of the early pace battle with Martindale Lad on his outside.

Kerry Schimmefennig took the other with Francos Matt who slipped around the inside at the bend to pick up the running from the fast starting Mucky Murty and quickly open up a three and a half length gap. 

Donny doubles for Lapidge and Fradgley

Gothic Joshua has really hit form again of late for Samantha Lapidge, winning for the third time in his last four starts, the only defeat coming in the opening round of the Time Northern Flat. The double was kicked off in the race before by Cockneys Crafty. He looked a strong staying type in Ireland, so as soon as he popped out in front, the race was over as a contest. 

There was also as double for David Fradgley with Kanturk Ace and Look Smart doing the winning. The former paced up well to the bend in a sprint contest after a slightly missed break while the latter took the missed break and ramped it up a notch or two, having to come from a long way back early on to grab the money.

There was a third straight win over 661m for Sean Davy's Jameson Johnny, though he only held on by a short head as his kennelmate Geelo Minty rattled home late to run him close. Barry Denby's Aghaburren Luna picked up a win last week in good fashion, improving for her prior looks here to run out a very impressive winner. 

Lisa Stephenson picked up a win with Sir Chancealot, with Rose Draper keeping up the good night for Sheffield handlers with Rockmount Bob taking a 450m contest. Jays Pippin took the sprint contest which opened up the card for Robert Fletcher with Blackstone Ten taking the other open for Craig Marston.

Open treble for Foot at Star Pelaw

Glenn Foot took the honours at Star Pelaw with an open race treble over three different trips. Mossend Abbie was slick to exit the traps to land a sprint contest, Hawkfield Lexi took a 435m contest, another to come out of the traps like greased lightning. Slingshot Franky was stepped up in distance to six bends to take the other victory. 

There was a pair of winners for Ricky Holloway with Rapido Benny adding to a success from a week back. There was also a winner for Mickeys Tribute who took another hurdle victory to add to his ever growing tally. 

The betting thought This Approach should have been a third winner for Holloway but George Walker's Popper Jon had other ideas. Remarkably, there were two dead heats on the card, one in a graded race and one between Walker's Vixons Cocktail and Ken Kennedy's Maglass Bucks in a sprint open.

Sunnyside Gurkha was a quick winner again for Cheryl Ingram, notching up a third straight win over track and trip. The quickest winner over 435m on the card was Tromora Meg for David Curry, with the other success in the opens going to Gary Ralton's Fridays Jota.