Four at Romford for Young but its Tarquin that stars
There was open class action on Friday night at Romford and Sunderland. Paul Young had four winners in Essex but the show was stolen once more by Tiffield Tarquin.
Tarquin remains unbeaten in 2026
Roy Peckham has only had two greyhounds contest opens for him this year so far, with Tiffield Tarquin taking his unbeaten record to seven last night at Romford. He stopped the clock in 34.63, a new best for him, seeing off his field by more than five lengths. It will be interesting to see how Peckham campaigns him now. Hopefully, it's back to Towcester for the Derby as a recent trial there would suggest.
Paul Young took the training honours on the card with a four-timer. Recent Coral Golden Sprint winner Bombay Buck added to his 400m successes with another fluent display, this time in the black jacket. His last four wins have come from different boxes, and now that he is much more consistent in his trapping, he is going to prove a tough nut to crack.
There was a quick sprinting win for Young courtesy of Lesleys Buddy. The August 24 whelp had impressed when dropped back into a sprint last week but was sensational last night, stopping the clock in 13.22. That ties Nightingale Crew for the quickest of 2026, just five spots off the track record set by Chopchop Rainbow back in 2017. It was only the eighth start of his career.
Gav Nificent broke his maiden in style, producing a 23.70 run to kick off the open races on the night. He showed great desire at the opening bend to clear Calypso Blaze on his inside before setting sail down the back. Another offspring of Droopys Addition to make a splash, he is only 18 months old, and clearly one to keep onside.
The other winner for Young was Droopys Assertiv, another pup for the kennel. He had to overcome a little bit of bumping to get his head in front, but he did some good work late to make it a winning debut. The four-timer put Young up to 43 open race winners for 2026, only Maxine Locke has more with 47.
Locke was on the scoresheet with Headford Lily in a puppy contest. She is from a line that the kennel knows well, a half-sister to 2025 Puppy Derby and Gold Cup winner Headford Dane. An English Puppy Oaks finalist herself last year, she has not matched that form so far in 2026 but it is clearly still in the tank.
Mad For Cash picked up a 575m win for Nathan Hunt, tickling the 35-dead barrier. It was her third open race win of the year, all of those coming at over this track and trip. This was arguably the most impressive, coming from just off the pace on a quick track to get up on the run-in. She gives the impression there is a little bit more to come.
A 575m maiden final saw the two heat winners from last night fill out the first two places, with Charlie Loves Me getting the job done for John Mullins. The step up to this distance has looked of the making of him which is interesting given his litter brother Swift Hostile is the 280m track record holder at Sheffield and the recent Golden Sprint runner-up.
One more contest over 575m went the way of Ricky Holloway's Droopys Softy. She took aim at leader Millbank Boiler down the back the second time and proved far too strong for that runner from the fifth bend. She only won one of her first 17 starts but has scored in three of her last six so the penny has well and truly dropped, and she is now showing what she is capable of.
Our Bob was the other open race winner on the card, representing the kennel of Dave Lee. He has only been out of the first three once in his last 18 starts, winning six of those, so he gets plenty of kudos for his consistency. He stays 400m well, a litter brother to the same kennels Brunch Pal who has won over as far as 575m at this track.
Lab runs riot at Sunderland
There were just two opens at Sunderland last night with a six-bend contest seeing Jacktavern Lab bolting up by seven lengths for John Flaherty. He had been kept to A1 company at Newcastle since missing out on a spot in the semis of the Ladbrokes Golden Jacket by half a length, the return to a longer trip suiting him perfectly.
Ballymac Deboss took the 450m open on the card for Carl Jackson, picking up his fourth open race win of the year. He has a rock solid strike rate of one in three since joining the Jackson kennel and has proven equally at home over two and four bends.
