Golden Jacket thriller as Mongys Wild just noses out Droopys Flare

Picture credit - Gary Garner

Golden Jacket thriller on Saturday night

A short head separated Mongys Wild and Droopys Flare at the end of 684m at Monmore with the Ladbrokes Golden Jacket just going to the Mark Wallis-trained superstar. The winner came away much better than can often be the case, almost looking like he would turn front rank before others just beat him to the punch.

By the fifth bend he had his head in front and looked like he would go on to win with more in hand but Sean Parker's Droopys Flare had other ideas, pushing him all the way to the line. A missed break was costly to Vhagar who got herself to the front by the time that they hit the third bend but that exertion told against stronger stayers. 

The Maxine Locke pair The Other Winx and Bluejig Outlaw never looked like landing a serious blow, but they are both just January 24 whelps, so there should still be more to come from them. 

Although Cartoonist finished last for Craig Morris, it didn't tell the story of his race. Like Vhagar, he didn't show his early pace like he can but he was the one to keep up with the three big guns the longest before that effort took its toll from the three-quarters mark. Others are stronger over a stiff six but he shapes as if there is a decent prize in him. 

There was drama in the Ladbrokes Winter Derby final with the hare stopped in the interests of safety after a first bend incident involving Texas Jack. Thankfully Richard Rees confirmed that he seems ok in a tweet in the early hours of the morning after arriving home, with the final set to be run next Saturday night instead with the other runners lining back up without Texas Jack. 

The undercard saw a string of very smart performances led by another winner for Wallis in Crafty Alejandro. He beat a strong sprint field with a 15.07 performance, tied for the second quickest run since the start of 2021, with only Ballinakill Liam last year going quicker.

The 28-dead barrier was tickled by the win of Unanimous Leon for Tom Heilbron. A 4.27 split put him quickly into an unassailable lead, winning for the third time in his last four starts at Monmore. He was targeting at the Golden Sprint at Romford after Monmore last year, so it will be interesting to see how connections campaign him.

Just a single spot slower was Flashing Fender. Craig Morris's charge has been in flying form over the last 10 weeks with six wins and a pair of runner-up efforts in eight starts. Flashing is exactly how he exited the traps, producing a 4.24 sectional to end his rivals chances from the start. 

Alright Twinkle had a day away from Oxford but the end result was the same, picking up her sixth straight win. Bang On Edith produced a very slick sectional but David Lewis's red-hot bitch came away well herself, stopping the clock in 28.19. 

There was an extension to the perfect start over eight bends from Greenwell Gypsy who made it 3/3 over marathon distances to supplement wins at Newcastle and Sunderland in December and January. The Dorando on Derby final night looks tailor-made for her.

A puppy race on the card is going to be one that is worth revisiting through the year. It was won by Underground Gold for Paul Young, picking up Bikini Bullet in the last few strides. Belinda Green's bitch will be winning plenty of races with her early pace and similar comment apply to the third, Aayamza Shazza for John Mullins

Kim Billingham-Hine picked up a winner on the night from Beatties Shelby who landed the other puppy contest. His pace to the bend made all the difference, getting himself away and gone. 

Central Park treble for Janssens

There was a full slate of 13 opens at Central Park where Patrick Janssens put some of his Arena Racing Company Kent Plate team through their paces. Droopys Graph was just the quickest on the night over 491m, stopping the clock in 28.84. That's four straight wins now for him, looking more and more like a genuine Derby contender as he matures. 

28.87 was the time produced by Slick Sentinel off an identical 3.02 split. He is a dog that has rarely disappointed in his career, though one of those times was in the opening round of the Kent Derby last October, so it was good to see him so impressive on his return to the Kent venue for a second race there.

Droopys Buck kicked off the Janssens treble with a sprint success. He paced up well after a slower getaway but was quickly on top of his field on just the third start of his career. He had been picked up over 480m at Monmore on his UK debut, showing plenty of speed here. 

There was a short-priced double on the card for Maxine Locke, getting her winning underway in the opening race courtesy of Barnfield Titan. Pitched straight into the opening round of the Northern Puppy Derby on his debut, he was impressive on just the third start of his career. 

Droopys Will produced a solid sprinting time to pick up the Locke double. He added to a win over track and trip from last year but has also added wins at Oxford and Romford in the meantime.

It's been an impressive start for Brunch Pal since joining Dave Lee, making it six wins in nine starts as he got his head in front in a bunch finish. Cinderella Tell and Ballymac Axel are both rock-solid types around here, making for one of the best finishes of the night.

The quickest sprint winner of the evening came from Paul Burr's Don Rocco. He has made a nice impression early on in limited action at Romford and had no issues with a drop back in trip, nor a very different track. This should open up plenty of options for him. 

At the other end of the distance scale there was a single six-bend contest where the winning run of One More Tune came to an end at the paws of Mark Newberry's Bogger Cash. His last three open race wins had all come over 659m at Yarmouth but he clearly enjoyed the outing elsewhere, clocking 40.15. That was just a length and a half off the track record set by Burrows Charm three weeks ago.

Julie Luckhurst managed to grab a winner on the card in the final contest. Earls Jaguar is the type who rarely runs a bad race no matter whether graded or in an open, with this win probably the best of his career so far. 

There was a winner for Dan Brabon as Swift Dallas added an eighth win from just 19 career starts. There were also three surprises for punters on the card as Droopys Topnotch for Mick Mavrias, Dave Puddy's Hasty Lottie and Bonnies Legacy for Frank Macklin scored at 9/1, 16/1 and 18/1 respectively. 

Butlers Lane does it again at Dunstall

It's fair to say that the winning times of Butlers Lane the last couple of weeks at Dunstall Park have not been amongst her very best, but Barry Denby's Oaks winner just keeps on picking successes up. She is now 10/11 at the track and looks set to add plenty more wins to that tally this year.

Kim Billingham-Hine picked up a double on the card with Champys Girl and Droopys Poker. The first named found all sorts of trouble in her semi-final of the Golden Jacket last week but showed no ill effects, coming home strongly to pick up the sole 660m contest on the card. 

Droopys Poker added to a win at this track last week. Once more he was superior to his rivals for middle gears after being slow into stride and getting an early bump. A finalist in both the Puppy Classic and Eclipse at Nottingham last year, he was runner-up in the JR Racing Puppy competition on Derby final night. A return to Towcester soon perhaps?

The other three opens on the card were all sprints and the winners of each of them dipped under 16 seconds. Quickest was Swift Oilean for Dalton Smith, making it a hat-trick of wins after a pair of top grade successes. 

The surprise of the night was seeing Good Acclaim lose his unbeaten record. Pat Doocey's Longacres Arles came home too strong for him to make it four wins in six starts himself. Robert Hall took the final sprint contest with Headford Sonny. The veteran has been in solid form in graded company of late, winning an open for the fourth straight year. 

Hutton bags Oxford pair

Saturday has become the main day for Oxford opens and Kevin Hutton picked up a pair of them with Venetian Mick and Jazzy George. The former has found his groove again over 650m, the winner of six of his nine starts over track and trip now. 

The latter showed a good constitution to dig in off the final bend after a coming together with the smart Broadway Murty. The sprinters served up a decent spectacle with the Scurry runner-up just coming out on top.

Salthill Sydney was the winner of the other six-bend contest on the card. Ron Peckover's charge was a smart opening round winner of the bet365 Challenge Cup back in November, unfortunate to find a semi that contained Vhagar and Romeo Empire. He had some decent types in opposition yesterday as well but his early pace took him clear early on into a lead he was never going to give up. 

This 450m trip really suits Mr Flashy who picked up his hat-trick of wins for Adam Sear. He impressed once more with the way that he runs the second bend after showing his typical smart speed to the opening turn. 

Angie Kibble rounded out the open winners with Newinn Bliss. She got her head in front for the first time since November, finally getting herself far enough clear in a race. She has been showing impressive speed in recent starts but just finding others a little stronger coming home, with this a well-deserved success.

Fraud adds a six-bend success

It has been a pleasure to see Kereight Fraud back in such flying form in recent weeks at Yarmouth for Erica Samuels. Her three wins in 2026 had all come over the 462m distance until yesterday afternoon when she seamlessly transferred her winning ways back to 659m. Quickly in control of her field, she picked up a fourth win from her last five starts and a 27th overall for her career.

Even with only a couple of opens to aim at on a Saturday, it has been rare for Craig Morris to leave empty handed. Made Of Stone ensured that he picked up another winner this week in a four way photo. It was a messy contest but the first four home are all capable types with limited miles on the clock.