Green and Hutton with Thursday night trebles

Hove treble for Belinda Green

Hove had five opens last night with Belinda Green picking up three of them. Quickest of the bunch was marginally Fantasy Alex who landed his fifth open win with a strong effort early on up the rails. He won five of his first eight starts in 2025 so perhaps this is a good time of year to catch him!

Wastehouse Mix has been in sparkling form for Green in recent weeks, a fourth win from his last six starts last night. A vacant trap inside him was a huge help as he pinged out and avoided all of the first bend trouble out wide to run out a 15-length winner.

Green's treble was completed by Limp Rocket in the final race of the evening. He was another who showed the best speed to the bend to lead up, making it 2/2 in his career. Still in the could be anything bracket, he strikes as one to keep on side. 

Distant Dahlia clocked an identical 29.69 to Limp Rocket, winning for Matt Dartnall. She had made the semis of the bet365 Puppy Oaks when behind Soapy Suds at Oxford, a track where she worked up the levels, winning in A3, A2 and A1.

The surprise for punters came from Jamie Kingsley's Sussex Cyclone. She too had run in the Puppy Oaks, though was fourth in her heat, winning an open at Hove six days later. In Gingers Tali, she saw off a decent yardstick, winning at 9/1.

Hutton picks up three at Monmore

It was a strong card at Monmore where Kevin Hutton landed three winners over three different trips. Kranky Drake beat Rackethall Brute in a decent 480m contest, stopping the clock in 28.22 which was the best of the runs over that distance on the evening. 

A 630m race went to Resonate, getting back on top late on after a battle with Aero Boris. The pair went head to head from the opening bend, and with the likes of Bombay Nutty and Droopys Flotilla further down the field, it's decent form even if the clock wasn't as swift as perhaps would have been expected given the field.

There was also a 684m race on the card where Jet Stream Jane timed her challenge to the millimetre to pick up the long-time leader Magical Bertie. Early scrimmaging had seen the Hutton-trained bitch shuffled to the back along with the favourite The Other Winx but she picked up powerfully when seeing clear air.

Although Maxine Locke was out of luck with The Other Winx, she picked up a double on the night courtesy of Turnthemagicon and Droopys Dettori. The first of those made a serious impression when winning a couple of times back in August. His early gears saw him clear of a deep field including Santas Amigo, Unanimous Leon and Droopys Aladdin. What made the win more remarkable is he briefly looked lost at the quarter mark before he lived up to his name and turned the magic on down the back.

8/1 was the biggest-priced open race winner on the card which was Droopys Dettori in the final race. He took a few strides to engage top gear but once he did, he paced well to the turn, ran the opening bends to perfection to kick away down the back. 

The quality on show last night suggests that the Winter Derby is going to have a deep field, with Toddys Tank laying down a marker for Tom Heilbron. Chasing him home were Irish Derby finalist Droopys Deploy, Maiden Derby finalist Ballybough Nutz and Puppy Collar winner Outa The Clouds. Heilbron's dark brindle was a Birmingham Cup and All England Cup finalist himself in 2025.

A sprint went to Kim Billingham-Hine's Catchem Boyo. The pup is unbeaten in three starts since dropping to two bends, and while his task was made easier with the withdrawal of Ballinakill Liam, it was still a rock-solid performance with all three of his wins stopping the clock at the same 15.47.

Sargie in chargie at Newcastle 

Tom Heilbron picked up a winner at home as well with Ballymac Sargie. It was a fifth straight win for him, two over Newcastle's 480m, a pair at Star Pelaw over 590m and one at Sunderland over 640m. He really has the bit between his teeth at present, seeing off a decent field in a smart 28.47.

Ballymac Service picked up a win for Jimmy Fenwick to get the opens off and running on the card. It was a sixth win from 18 starts for the March 24 pup who is a half-brother to some speedy types like Ballymac Briar, Longacres Lad and Fire And Ice.

The other open on the card went to Slingshot Major for Brian Fairbairn. It was a first win in four starts for the youngster who got on top at the third bend in another puppy contest with the opening round of the Northern Puppy Derby coming up on February 5.