Monday doubles for Billingham-Hine and Morris
Nottingham saw a double for both Kim Billingham-Hine and Craig Morris on their Monday night opens, with trial stakes for the Puppy Classic the features.
Newinn Jolly goes quickest in the Puppy Classic trial stakes
There was a bit of a surprise for punters in the opening Puppy Classic trial stake as Kim Billingham-Hine's Newinn Jolly took the scalp of Sean Parker's Annadown Warrior. It was the trap exit that made all the difference, with both the winner from three and Scooby Mustang in two heading straight left which saw the favourite briefly short of room. As it was, there was five and a half lengths in it at the line, with the clock stopped in a smart 29.48.
Droopys Poker produced a strong finish to give Billingham-Hine a second win on the board, getting up in the shadow of the post by a short head. He is a dual Category One finalist at this venue, and although he has open race wins at Monmore, Dunstall Park and Sheffield, this is the track where he has produced the pick of his efforts.
There was also a double on the night for Craig Morris, picking up a pair of the Puppy Classic trial stakes. Lady Gambet was the quicker of the two despite being slow away and turning the opening bend in last. She cornered best of the field, entering the back in second, picking up the lead halfway down the far side and staying on powerfully to make it 2/2 in her career.
The very next race saw Morris double up with Darceys Dude showing the best speed to the bend to go around in front. He was making his race debut, showing bundles of promise for the future. He is another from the Ballymac Cashout x Kilmore Diamond litter which contains Saturday's flying BOYLE Sports Irish Derby heat winner Sleight Of Hand.
It was Kevin Boon who produced the big shock of the trial stakes with Farneys Tilly who landed a 28/1 victory. She had been stepped up to six bends to run in the opening round of the Regency and given that connections clearly believe that she has plenty of stamina, she was always going to prove hard to beat having gone around in front, despite her odds.
Swift Kipper produced another success for Terry Munslow, a 14th success from her last 23 starts. That is a spectacular strike rate, with both the 480m and 500m distance coming alike for her. She has plenty of early boot and that saw her go around in front once more, and there appears to be no end in sight for her excellent run of form.
The final race on the night was a sprint contest which went to Michelle Brown's Roanna Mamba. He is a powerful performer over this trip and that came in handy to chase down Beatties Lyra who was bidding to give Billingham-Hine a treble. That's three wins in his last four starts and he has shown in the past that when he gets hot, he can go on long winning runs.
