Hutton upbeat about Luka despite Romford defeat
After finishing third in the Romford Puppy Cup final, Magical Luka can still go on to great things according to Kevin Hutton.
Hutton keeping the faith with Luka
Kevin Hutton still believes Magical Luka has a big future despite his costly defeat in the Coral Romford Puppy Cup final last Friday.
Sent over from Ireland to Hutton by Pat Guilfoyle for a crack at the Category One event, the exciting youngster had won all his previous 11 starts and went off a 1/8 favourite to maintain his unbeaten record in the £10,000 decider.
However, the October 2023 son of King Sheeran and Magical Mary completely missed the break and although he showed electric early speed to get into contention, he encountered serious traffic problems around the opening two bends.
He was then forced to check again at the third turn and had to settle for third place in the end, as Scooby Diamond landed the big prize for Nathan Hunt at 14/1.
Speaking on www.kevinhuttonracing.com, he said: “It was a very disappointing outcome in the final of the Puppy Cup at Romford as the brilliant Magical Luka was beaten for the first time in his career.
“He missed the break and got trouble at the first bend before unleashing unreal pace down the back straight but unfortunately he didn’t know what to do at the third bend when challenging for the lead and was crowded out.
“He would never have had a dog in front of him before so it was perfectly understandable that he showed his inexperience there.
“While it was a great shame that he couldn’t win the final he remains an absolute superstar who I’m sure will go onto great things.
“It’s certainly been a pleasure to have him in Burford and his track record equalling performance in the first round will live long in our memories.”
Magical Luka
Hutton also had praise for the facilities a Dunstall Park as he visited the newly-opened track for the first time last week.
“We took our first trip to Dunstall Park on Thursday afternoon to trial three dogs and they all moved well,” Hutton added.
“The track looks superb and the facilities are excellent and we’re looking forward to having our first runners there next week. “
