Flare makes statement in opening round of the Queen Mother Memorial Cup

Flare sends out Sheffield warning 

It was disappointing to see just two heats of the Category Two Queen Mother Memorial Cup at Sheffield but Droopys Flare made sure that those in attendance were treated to winning star. The triple Category One finalist found a little trouble early but having come past the stands in second, it seemed inevitable that she would pick up the leader. 

That leader was Jason Gray's Loxleys Forest who forced the winner to check outside him at the fifth bend before she powered home and clear. She was 10 spots off the quickest of the year, losing three times that on the way around. 

She was 97 spots quicker that Droopys Extragud who landed the other heat for Heather Dimmock. He and Michelle Brown's Golden Palace enjoyed a real set to from flag fall. Leading early, he found himself a couple of lengths down into the back the second time but he dug deep to nose himself back in front up the inside on the run-in.

There was a double for Dimmock on the card with Dunbolg Formula landing a 480m contest. A winner over the longer four-bend trip last week, he took the drop back in trip in his stride to see off a solid yardstick around Owlerton in Tiermana Rocky.

A sprint on the afternoon went to Lisa Stephenson's Bushpark Del Boy to make it a clean sweep for the favourites in the opens. It was a debut for the kennel, having had a single run for Garry Hamilton last August at Sunderland. Hopefully it won't be another seven months before we see him in action again. 

Towcester double for Hutton

After an outstanding Saturday night at Oxford, Kevin Hutton continued that form at Towcester on Sunday. Jet Stream Jane popped out in front in a stayers contest and there she stayed despite the best efforts of Frankton Ivy who had been backed from 12/1 into 9/2 on her return to six bends. The winner has picked up three of her four successes over this 712m test.

Droopys Berries had got Hutton's afternoon off to a winning start to make it back-to-back wins at the track. He missed a huge chunk of 2025 after an injury, and has found his way again over a stiff four bends. 

Patrick Janssens win percentage in opens so far in 2026 is 52%, adding another winner in Slick Skylark. A combination of exceptional talent at his disposal and smart placing has seen 26 winners from 50 runners. A clear run out wide was a help with Slick Skylark pacing up best, making the corner in front of a bit of trouble and running away from them by a little over five lengths. 

His Slick Sentinel had to give best to Maxine Locke's The Other Chief in another 500m contest, the winner producing a smart 28.84. It was only his second win in nine starts but his other was a flying 28.60 around Central Park. He has the natural ability to live with (and beat) the top dogs in the country when he is on his game.

A sprint contest saw Pavilion Team smash down the bars on his first run in four weeks. That February win was the best run that he had put in around Towcester, and even after a month without a race, he had no problem backing it up with another superb time. 

One other open on the card went to Paul Philpot's Kockard Joe. Trouble around the opening couple of bends for his two main market rivals helped his cause but he had to dig deep when challenged, showing an excellent attitude to maintain the gallop, as would've been expected of one with six-bend winning form.

Epic Evelyn back to winning ways

Moving from Dunstall Park to The Valley has really helped Epic Evelyn find her winning touch. Sunday saw an eighth win from 15 starts for Donna Davy, with this her third open race win of 2026. All about early pace, she had them burned off from before the opening turn.

The other four-bend open was a bit of a messy contest, eventually won by Hawkfield Elvis who got up late on to grab the money for Tony Morgan. A drop into an A5 last time out looked to help, finding his confidence with a win, taking the step back into opens in his stride. 

There were also a pair of sprints on the card, the quicker of which went to Mottee Grace. A half-sister to Hello Diego, Craig Marston's winner is still learning this track, runner-up on her Valley debut last week.

Affleck Salsabil was the shortest odds winner on the card, winning for Christian Darch. She was one of three who held the lead at some point of this sprint contest, challenging late in the day to grab her first open race success.