Fantastic four for Belinda Green at Hove while Jimmy Fenwick gets a Newcastle treble

Four for Green at Hove

Thursday proved to be an exceptional night for Belinda Green at Hove, picking up four winners with Behemoth leading the way on times. On the days when he times his break to perfection, he is a smart performer, producing a 29.16 effort from the front which ranks right up there with the best of his runs so far.

Oaks finalist Raebella Bullet picked up the fourth and final win, taking out a Coral Brighton Belle trial stake. She turned handy behind Rapido Roisin and proved to be the stronger of the pair coming home. The two of them will both be leading players for the competition outright when it starts on April 11.

Bombshell Bullet landed a maiden final for Green in a solid 29.39. She led her field up, seeing off a couple of pups, who although have not produced too much in the way of winning goods yet, have both shown plenty of promise. It was a four-timer up for the winner, and she looks more than capable of holding her own at a better level.

It was Guzzler who kicked off the four-timer, winning the first open on the evening, a sprint contest. The veteran was another who was picking up a fourth win on the bounce after a quick fire treble earlier in the month in D1 grade. It was win number 27 since joining Green, winning an open race for the fourth straight calendar year. 

There was a double on the night for Seamus Cahill, kicked off in a stayers contest by Unthinkable. He had some very smart form over 695m last year, doubling up on a win from seven days prior to add another sub 42-second victory to his credit. 

It was a return to winning ways for Blackstone Opera in another Brighton Belle trial stakes. She had hit form with a vengeance earlier on in the year but still showing signs of inexperience, she had suffered a few defeats since. There is no doubt that there is better still to come from her as she matures, with her 30.23 the quickest of the 515m contests.

Clona Kody has been running well in recent starts, rather unfortunate to have the wrong dogs turn behind him. He used his early gears to turn in front once more but on this occasion, he was able to burn off his rivals for Richard Rees. This track suits him well. 

Paul Young had four runners in the Coral 515 Trophy final, taking the prize with 16/1 Bowmers Sheeran. He had landed a 500m contest two starts back at the same odds before picking up his heat last week at 9/1. That is a 2,890/1 hat-trick of wins and hopefully connections have been rewarded with a few quid on him each time.

The messiest of the Brighton Belle trial stages went to Derek Knight's Break Point. She just did enough to force her way up the inside of the favourite Ari Up at the opening bend and having given that rival a nudge to the right, she set sail off the second turn. She has now won three of her last four, suffering a short head defeat in the other.

A second sprint contest went to Burrows Titan for Jason Heath. He was away and gone from an early stage to justify his position as the long odds-on favourite in the four-runner field. It was a thoroughly professional display considering he was a pup on his race debut. 

Newcastle treble for Fenwick

Jimmy Fenwick took half of the six open race contests at Newcastle last night, led by a smart 28.50 from Ballymac Service. The Arc Northern Puppy Derby runner-up was the only puppy in the line-up, back on home soil after making the semis of the Ladbrokes Puppy Derby at Monmore. 

Ballymac Shontae was another successful puppy for Fenwick, taking a sprint contest in 16.74. That was only half a length off the quickest of the year and just 14 spots off the track record. He has an open race win over 480m at this track but the drop to sprinting was a clear career best.

The first leg of the treble came from Zenith Mikmacker who rode a first bend bump well to grab the lead off the second bend. It was a fifth win in just 10 starts since joining Fenwick, and a third from his last four starts.

Tom Heilbron had the quickest winner over 480m on the evening with Toddys Storm. His 28.39 slots in as the fifth quickest of the year so far, making a spectacular UK debut for the son of Skywalker Barry. He had scored in two of his four starts at Kilkenny, making a step forward on his finishing time with each race. With just five in total under his belt, it is impossible to know where his ceiling is.

There was a sprint winner for Ted Soppitt as Sunnysde Gurkha came out on top in a messy contest. He proved to be the bravest at the bend, challenging between rivals to grab the lead coming off the second turn. The majority of his winning form has come over four bends at Sunderland, but showed this to be just as suitable. 

The other open race winner on the card was Lotties Big Wave who came home in front for George Power. Her other two wins had come at Romford when in the care of David Mullins. She was a first open race winner for Power since Ballymac Sheriff at Sunderland in December 2014, though in fairness, he has had very few runners at that level since.