Four for Janssens in the BGBF British Breeders Stakes final
Both of the semi-finals of the BGBF British Breeders Stakes were won by Patrick Janssens-trained dogs on Monday night with the trainer having three in the final next week.
Nottingham final set for Romeo domination?
It's been a great few days for Dave Firmager. Last Thursday night Romeo Steel won British Bred Greyhound of the Year at the GBGB awards, Romeo Tomcat jointly won Newcomer of the Year and Fabulous Mila won Best Dam of British Bred.
Fast forward four nights and Firmager has four of the six finalists in the BGBF British Breeders Stakes, plus another who he bred. Romeo Ability was the quicker of the two semi-final winners, leading up the inside of Angie Kibble's Eagles Respect early on. The pair had a couple of notable clashes in the Produce Stakes last year so are well versed with one another. Fabulous Heka ran on to grab third.
Romeo Empire got to the front early in the other heat and despite the best efforts of his kennelmate Romeo Tomcat, there was no way past the leader. Romeo Empire was third in this last year, subsequently making the finals of the Regency, Challenge Cup and Cesarewitch, finishing runner-up in all three. He fully deserves a Cat One triumph of his own.
Romeo Force finished third for Kelly Hodson who will be hoping that lightning strikes twice after the competition was won last year by one who had left the Janssens/Firmager powerhouse.
On the undercard there was another impressive win from Good Acclaim for Stuart Tighe. His 17.47 takes over as the new quickest of the year, just 15 spots off the track record of Romeo Steel. He is still a pup until the end of the month, and after just seven starts, the bigger sprinting names need to sit up and take notice.
Speaking of Romeo Steel, he added another win to his vast repertoire of victories in a 305m contest. All tracks and distances seem to come alike to him, he's just a professional who gets the job done.
Tighe doubled up in another sprint with Favourite Rogue who had been chasing Good Acclaim home of late. Without his kennelamte to beat, the opportunity opened up for him to get his head in front again, and he needed no second invitation.
Two heats of the Arc Standard Trophy were separated by a single spot. Newinn Oscar for Nathan Hunt just came out the quicker of the pair, notching up a fifth straight success in the process.
It will not be so easy in the final as he has another Nottingham specialist in No Better Feelin to take on. Esther Driver's charge continued his winning run over 500m at the track, going two spots quicker than Newinn Oscar on the split.
There was a double on the night for Jill Llewellin. The local handler enjoys plenty of open race success at the track, with 13 open race winners at Nottingham in both 2024 and 2025. Leelad and Time Counts picked up a pair of sprints for the kennel last night, a fifth open race win for the former and 10th for the latter.
