Droopys Flare took the Queen Mother Memorial Cup on Sunday

Flare lands the Queen Mother Memorial Cup

Droopys Flare was the main attraction at Sheffield yesterday and Sean Parker's three time Category One finalist didn't disappoint. She took apart the final of the Category Two Queen Mother Memorial Cup by eight and a half lengths in the second quickest time of the year.

Savanaregimental has the quickest time but he was no match for the winner when she turned on the class. Droopys Expected had shown the best trapping to go around in front but as soon as the winner turned into the home straight behind him on the first circuit the writing was on the wall. Hers was the last race before there was an issue with the hare which saw the rest of the card abandoned.

Earlier on the afternoon there was a win for Timmys Hunter over the same 660m for Patrick Curtin. He was a finalist in the BresBet Steel City Cup over 500m at the track back in October, showing the best pace to turn in front. His winning time was almost a full second slower than Droopys Flare, despite running riot by 10 lengths himself.

Crokers Harry took the sprint on the card for Rose Draper, seeing off Michelle Brown's Roanna Mamba. The draw inside his main rival as well as the track experience saw him home by three-quarters of a length. He was headed briefly as they came towards the crown of the bends but he battled back well in by far the most competitive finish of the three main races.

Lock Up bolts up in Derby trial stake

The first four Star Sports and Orchestrate English Greyhound Derby trials stakes were the features on the card at Towcester where Salacres Lock Up was the quickest of the winners for Peter Harnden. In a race packed with early pace, he led up King Memphis on his inside, took the opening two bends smoother than his rivals and cleared away down the back.

There were two winners for Mark Wallis from Fire Height Lila and Newinn Tonic. It was a first win of the year for the former, coming away better from the traps than she has been doing. A strong runner over this sort of distance, she powered clear from the third bend.

Newinn Tonic sported the same orange jacket to victory, pacing up too well for the rest of the field to hit the first bend a length and a half in front. She was helped a little bit by Droopys Berries being unable to get up the inside of Carrigoon Milo into the third bend but she had shown plenty up to that point to see her home in front.  

Kevin Hutton took the other trial stake with Kranky Drake. A finalist in the Arena Racing Company Puppy Classic at Nottingham last summer, he missed the kick in his semi-final of the Ladbrokes Winter Derby, running on powerfully into third. He came home the strongest once more to grab the win in the final strides. 

There was one more open on the card, a 712m contest where Blue Jig Outlaw overcame a draw outside of some decent early pace to claim a fluent win for Maxine Locke. The Golden Jacket finalist paced up best, going around in front and drawing clear.

Hardy with a Star Pelaw double

It was back to Sunday opens at Star Pelaw where Chloe Hardy picked up a pair of winners. Bramble Elvis was the quicker of the pair by a single spot, crossing the line in 25.51. The veteran was picked up over 590m here last week by Untold Ariary and had no issues dropping back to 435m. 

Vinegarhill Rhys added a second win for Hardy off an exceptional 5.35 split. It was only his third run since arriving at the kennel, winning a Newcastle A3 on his debut. This was a hugely impressive first look at the track, coming three and three-quarter lengths clear of the second. 

There was a new quickest of the year over the sprint trip as Frank Kearney's Wanted Tibet produced a flying 14.31. She was rocket powered from the lids to produce a time that was only bettered a single time in 2025. She was a winner over this distance on her debut for the kennel but had been seen only over 435m since. 

Glenn Foot grabbed a winner with Burrow Bell who got the better of Hillside Lily by half a length. She has won half of her 10 races in 2026, four of them over this trip and one over the sprint distance. 

The other open on the card was a maiden which went to Swift Uni for Jake Devitt. She got up late on over 245m last time out in a D3 contest, once more leaving it until the latter stages before she got herself to the front after a slow start.

Davy and Danahar with Valley doubles

A first run in an open since August proved no obstacle for Seeking Times, Donna Davy's dog adding to an impressive string of graded wins here over the last six months to add another open to his tally. Davy's double came up from Droopys Nijinsky who picked up his ninth race win from his last 13 starts.

James Danahar also picked up a pair of winners with Ballycowen Phil and Parkview Tan both winning sprint contests. The former has a couple of D5 wins to his credit, so this was a fair step up in grade but he coped fine. The latter has not got his head in front for three months and really turned things up a notch once he got to the front. 

The other two opens on the card both went to front runners. Grovenor Anna scored for Adrian Rawlings, the winner of three of her last five and Beaconsfield Boy who was successful for Paul Maynard.