Elusivenomore aiming for £10,000 bonus in Steel City Cup
Bresbet have put up a £10,000 bonus for any dog who can win both the Gymcrack and Steel City Cup, and Elusivenomore has it in his sights.
Elusivenomore on track for Steel City Cup
It’s all systems go for a crack at the Steel City Cup with Elusivenomore following a victory at Sheffield on Friday night.
After bouncing back with an impressive Newcastle win, the Jimmy Fenwick-trained dog returned to the scene of his Bresbet Gymcrack triumph with a taking success last week and will now aim for a Sheffield double as the Steel City Cup gets underway on Sunday.
Still lightly-raced for his age, the August 2023 whelp boasts a 50% strike-rate and co-owner Dave Lawrence is hoping his charge is over his injury problems now.
“I was delighted with his win at Newcastle the other week, then we gave him a trial at Sheffield and he won well there on Friday night,” said Lawrence.
“He’s a genuine dog who will give his all but his Achilles’ heel is he’s not the greatest trapper. On Friday, he was arguably last out of the boxes but he’s got exceptional pace to the bend.
“I like him in trap one. I know it might not the best trap to break from at Sheffield and some people may argue that is the case at quite a few tracks. So, he might break better from trap two or three but he wants to be close to the fence and, like on Friday, he has got more chance of getting a run to the bend from the one box.
“It’s not all been plain sailing with him – he had the cough and that meant he couldn't run in the Juvenile Classic at Towcester, which I was really looking forward to. And similarly with the Ladbrokes Gold Cup at Monmore, he went for a trial stakes after Sunderland and picked up a bit of a niggle in that.
“So, we missed two Category One competitions he could have gone in, but when he does run, he usually runs very well. He’s only had 14 races but he has won seven and been second in three.”
An incentive by Bresbet for winning both competitions means Elusivenomore will pick up a bonus of £10,000 if he adds the Steel City Cup to his Gymcrack success, but Lawrence admits he would be delighted to just win such a prestigious competition.
He continued: “The Steel City Cup would be a lovely competition to win. Obviously, to win the bonus would be nice but just to win the Steel City Cup would be fantastic. I’m looking forward to it.
“Obviously, I’m upset for Jimmy that Wicky Ned isn’t going to be running in the Steel City Cup, but obviously that means that one of our main rivals is not going to be there.
“I will admit he was fortunate in the Bresbet Gymcrack final earlier in the year, but he took his chance and he won the race. This is what happens in greyhound racing, as we all know.
“The dogs that he beat, especially Romeo Tomcat, Romeo Alliance and Romeo Ability, have gone on to show how good they are in various competitions.
“He’s a winner and I’m delighted to be part of it. Jimmy and Mel do a great job with him and I’ve had dogs with them for many years now. I’ve had some decent dogs with them over the years but I think this is the best one.
“ I just hope he can keep sound because I think he can go on and win plenty more races.”
Entries for the Bresbet Steel City Cup close tomorrow, with the heats on Sunday 5th October. The semi-finals are a week later and the final takes place on Sunday 19th October.
