Four Hove doubles while Fenwick takes three at Newcastle

Hove doubles for Green, Cahill, Rees and Kingsley

The 12 opens at Hove saw four trainers pick up a double. Behemoth kicked off the brace for Belinda Green, the Coral Sussex Cup finalist dropping back slightly in trip to take a 500m contest. He showed plenty of early boot to get himself to the front and once he got on the bunny, it was going to take a huge run from anything else to be able to claw him back.

Rapido Benji took the final race on the card, also showing by far the best early speed to the bend to claim victory. He produced a very slick 3.42 split on his debut for the kennel having moved from June Harvey. He had been in flying form for Harvey prior to that and has now been successful in eight of his last 15 outings.

A single 695m contest on the card was won by Seamus Cahill and Blackstone Harry. He took full advantage of his position on the inside to slip around and avoid the trouble at the opening bend, opening up a gap on his rivals. He required almost all of the huge lead that he pulled out as the field were closing on him at the line.

Cahill's other winner came from Sheer Haze in the very next contest. It was a horribly messy puppy race but the winner was away and gone from his rivals early enough to avoid any of the carnage that happened behind him. He has already won a couple of graded starts at this track and could be a fair type.

There was also only a single sprint on the card which went to Avarua Lake for Richard Rees. It looked a deep contest on paper and having not been as quick into stride as Slaneyside Swale, the winner had to dig deep around the inside to grab the lead off the second bend.

The shortest priced winner on the night belonged to Rees in the shape of Epic Poppy. She had been unlucky to run into a pup of the quality of Gav Nificent on her last start on Regency final night, but she had been sent off favourite to beat that rival. That shows the ability that she possesses, looking a very nice prospect.

The fourth trainer to pick up a double was Jamie Kingsley, his pair led by Carrigoon Milo. He showed the best pace to the bend to grab the lead and fend off Untold Ariary. It was a first race outing in three months for the winner, so he is entitled to be sharper for this next time out.

Breffni Una gave Kingsley the double, another to work herself to the front early in the piece and maintain that gallop. She has tapped into a rich seam of form in recent weeks, winning four of her last six starts and was only beaten half a length in one of the other two. 

There was a deeply impressive win from the new Sussex Cup champion Smokestack Saxon. Jason Heath's charge got himself to the front on the run to the opening bend, pulling clear by nearly six lengths when the line came. His 28.91 was just the fourth time this year that 29-dead has been broken.

David Lewis picked up a winner with Alright Arthur. He had made a nice impression when he had scored on his debut at this track back in July, and did so once more last night. He has only had the six starts and was the sole puppy in the field which made the performance even more notable.

Another pup to come home in front against some older rivals was Alfie Herbert's Outdoor Corona. She followed the leader around, always snapping at his heels, before finally getting herself on top on the run to the line. A full-sister to Yorkie Ollie from the fourth different mating her dam has had with Magical Bale, she is a stunningly bred youngster.

The card opened with a win for Carl Gardiner and Clairkeith Candy. Her win was the biggest surprise for punters on the evening, scoring at 11/1 with a late lunge which got her to the front in the shadow of the post. She had just been picked up in a six-bend contest at Central Park on her most recent start having won over 491m there the time before. 

Fenwick takes three at Newcastle 

Jimmy Fenwick was the man to beat at Newcastle with three winners on the card. Elusivenomore was the quickest of his three scorers, all over the 480m distance. The 2025 Gymcrack winner has missed the last couple of months of race action, coming from just off the pace to take this success.

Taylor The Best took a bitches contest, just three spots slower than her kennelmate. She has won half of her 14 career starts, rattling off a four-timer in April and May, finishing runner-up to Annadown Chip in the final of the Arena Racing Company Puppy Trophy at Sunderland in the meantime. A classy type with plenty of early boot, she should still have a touch better in the tank.

The middle leg of the Fenwick treble was Zenith Mikmacker.  He paced up well into the opening bend to put his nose in front before being turned sideways. To his credit, he rode the trouble well, digging in to head into the back with a lead that he never looked like relinquishing. 

Quickest of the day over 480m was Tom Heilbron's Romeo Dutch. He is in exceptional form at present, winning a fourth straight contest and a seventh in 11 starts since joining the Trimdon handler. A flying 4.47 split set him on his way and once on the bunny, he just kept pulling clear, running our a six and a half length winner.

It was all change off the last bend in another bitches contest with Joe Edgar's Fabulous Harmony working her way to the front after some early crowding. She is not the most regular winner but she has kept warm company, making the final of the Arc Angel of the North at this track last month. 

The other open on the card was a staying contest which went to Grouchos Hawk for Brian Fairbairn. It was only the ninth start of his career, trying six bends for the first time. The winner of an A2 start on his most recent start, he is surely going to be capable of better now that the penny appears to be dropping with him, which could make him one to follow. 

Three of the four odds-on shots take the Valley opens

Ashway June was the star of the show at Valley for Adrian Rawlings, taking her six-bend open contest with a nice burst of early speed. She needed that as the runner-up was snapping at her heels from the fifth bend, but she kept on pulling out a little bit more all the way to the line to back up her win from last week.

The other staying affair was won by Kingsholm Road for Mike Burton. He had to work hard to justify the odds having paced into trouble at the opening bend. His stamina won him the day eventually, getting on top on the run-in to land the money on his debut over six bends.

Donna Davy took the sprint on the night with Fastlane George. He has been electric since being dropped back to two bends, winning three on the bounce with some smart trapping displays. It was his third occasion this year that he has put himself into the top 13 times over this distance.

The sole 460m open contest went the way of Shaun Chappell's Devista. It was a race where fortunes changed dramatically late on as the pair who had set the pace early on ended up finishing fourth and fifth in a contest where they all finished in a bit of a heap. A strong runner over this distance, he has won three of his last five, finishing second in the other pair.