Santas Amigo Delivers for Mullins on Newcastle's big night

Santas toys with his All England Cup rivals

A three-length win in the final of the Premier Greyhound Racing All England Cup was a fifth straight success for David Mullins's Santas Amigo. That run has seen him pick up the semi-final and final of the Classic at Sunderland ahead of his unbeaten romp through the three rounds of this competition. 

Early pace won the day for him once more, getting to the front at the opening bend and powering clear from there. Those gears are serving him well and surely further Category One wins await him next year. 

Droopys Bookem chased him home on what was an excellent night for Tom Heilbron. He fielded three in the final with Toddys Tank and Unanimous Leon also in the field. 16 of the 18 starts for Heilbron's runner-up have come in Category One races, he is a model of consistency. Ballymac Lake grabbed the final podium spot for Jimmy Fenwick while Stephen Caile's Ballymac Briar rounded out the field, and hopefully he is ok.

The other big final on the night was the Jimmy Wright Future Stars where Strike It Skye once more lit up Newcastle with a spectacular performance for Mark Wallis. Her 28.06 winning time is the quickest time of the year at the track and only two lengths off the track record of the incomparable Droopys Shearer. 

She broke better than has sometimes been the case, her 4.50 split comfortably the best that she had produced in the competition. Crafty Regalo was able to go with her to the opening bend but once she turned on the burners, she was away and gone to score by more than five lengths. Carl Jackson's runner kept on for second with David Fradgely's Bouncing Monarch taking third. 

There were four winners on the undercard for the Heilbron kennel, including both sprints on the card. Just a single spot separated the winning times of Madabout Peck and Bower Sheeran, producing the third and fourth quickest times of the year in the process. The former is another who just producing consistent run after consistent run for the kennel, while the latter continues to build his reputation as a youngster to keep on side. 

A pair of 480m races also went the way of Heilbron courtesy of Parkview Sprite and Ballymac Sargie. The first named was making just his second start for the kennel, unlucky to land in the same All England Cup heat as Santas Amigo on his UK debut. The second has enjoyed an excellent second half of the year, winning the Untold Racing Stewards' Cup at Star Pelaw.

Droopys Sort was an impressive winner of a 480m contest for Jackson. He has made a good impression since arriving on these shores, making the final of the Classic before missing out on a slot in the All England Cup decider by a short head and half a length.

Three staying contests were split by only two lengths, with Witton Gucci the quickest of the three for Jill Suthurst. She had trialled over six bends at Sunderland back in early August but this was her first start over the trip, quickly into stride and never looking like coming back.

Jacktavern Lab was a winner for John Flaherty. Odds on in the morning with his main market rival Newinn Cloud at 9/4, the pair switched places in the market but it was the local runner who came out on top, getting to the front as they left the back straight for the final time.

The third staying winner was Zenith Magic for the Fenwick kennel. He had found others too strong for him late on when he tried this far previously but he stayed the trip stronger this time around, keeping on well to get his head in front on the run-in. 

Ted Soppitt opened the card with a win for Ballymac Buddy, following up an impressive debut success at Sheffield. He will be in many notebooks as a dog to follow in better company in 2026. Fabulous Harmony took the bitches race for Joe Edgar, swooping around the outside early on to gain enough of a lead over Coppice Saphire. Savva Roberts picked up the other open on the card with Bogger Darling.

Hove open doubles for Cahill, Green and Rees

It was a solid card on the south coast at Hove on Saturday night with Missile One and Powerhouse Duke providing Seamus Cahill with a quickfire double. The former had a rough ride in the final of the Olympic recently but he was quickly back to winning ways over the same 515m trip. The latter was making his six-bend debut. A 29.25 winner over 500m, he was the quicker of the 695m contests. A Jan 24 whelp, he could be worth following.

The other six-bend race went to Swift Jarvis for Belinda Green. His time was 19 spots slower than Powerhouse Duke, although he did it from the back rather than the front. Fantasy Alex was the other winner for 'Team Green' on the card, just holding off Kick On Archie in a decent little tussle between the pair, pulling well clear of the third.

Shadow Storm's National Sprint win kicked the week off in style for Richard Rees, and he closed it with a pair of open race winners on the night to go along with a couple of graded scorers. Zenith Sultan picked up the first of them, quickly back to winning ways after a couple of months off. Scooby The Lady won the final race on the evening to close out the night.

There were four other open race winners won the card. Seomra Benji was the quickest of them for Jason Heath, Teddys Sister produced the surprise of the night, scoring at 14/1 for Carl Gardiner. Jamie Kingsley was on the board with Sussex Storm, with the sole sprint on the night going to Elite Liberty for Mattie Richards. 

Holloway, Lee and Puddy at the double in Kent

There was plenty of open race action to enjoy at Central Park. Ricky Holloway won two of the four contests over six bends on the evening with Razldazl Barkley and Droopys Runaway. It was a first open race win for the first of those since a 540H success on Crayford's closing night, while the latter is a March 24 pup getting off the mark over the longer trip.

It's been almost four months since Bluejig Baron was seen in race action, but there was no sign of any ring rust as he produced a flying 2.98 sectional to make a winning return for Dave Lee. The veteran has won on five of his last six visits to Central Park, his sole defeat came when taking on King Memphis. Brunch Pal made it 2/2 since arriving from Ireland, the pair producing very smart 28.68 and 28.79 runs respectively. 

Hasty Lottie. was the biggest priced winner of the evening, though Dave Puddy's bitch was only 6/1, making all the running from her middle berth. Danas Star has now won four of his last seven starts, winning a race where first to last was covered by a total of nine spots.

There was a 15th open race win of the year for Roanna Mamba in a sprint. Central Park was the fifth different track that Michelle Brown's runner had picked up a success at, coming out on top in a messy contest.

The quickest of the staying winners was Princess Matilda for Gemma Evans. She has a couple of wins over 750m at Romford and that extra stamina saw her get on top late on in a race of changing fortunes. 

Maxine Locke also had a winner over six bends with Two Spot. He had taken a long time to get off the mark but picked up his third win in his last five starts last night, having been found a track and trip that suit him down to the ground.

The final contest of the night saw a win for Julie Luckhurst's Witton Mac. Sent off odds on, he saw punters go home happy. Nick Carter's Cronody Zuma won the quicker of the sprints on the evening. He was a short head and a neck away from qualifying for the Kent Derby final back in October. The other open winner on the night was Dan Brabon's Speedy Uso, the young pup picking up his first win for the kennel after moving down from Doncaster.

Romford hat-trick for Silver Bucks

After wins at 14/1 and 8/1 the Romford bookies sent Katie O'Flaherty's Silver Bucks off at just 3/1 last night. He obliged once more to pick up win number 22 in his career. He is producing serious consistency from the boxes of late, his last four sectionals reading 3.72, 3.71, 3.69, 3.73. O'Flaherty followed up in the very next race with Carmelfromcanew whose career record is now 14/29.

Maxine Locke also picked up a double on the card. Out The Blue got the brace started with his fourth win in his last five starts before Bluejig Outlaw brought it home. The latter is now 2/2 since he was stepped up in distance. His dam was a multiple open race winner over 712m at Towcester, and he shaped as if a stiffer test at six bends will suit next year. 

Chelms Charmer was the quickest of the 575m winners on the night for Craig Morris. The Essex Vase kicks off on January 9 and his 35.28 on his first start at the track suggests that he might have claims of getting involved in the competition given the likelihood of improvement to come for that look around.

Paul Young landed the other open on the card with Undergroundnicky. Her four wins prior to this had all come from the red jacket, landing this from trap three. Her five wins so far have come from 15 starts.

Three open races at Nottingham

There were three opens on the Nottingham card last night over three different trips. Jim Daly took the sprint with Kelva Air, already a winner over the 255m distance in an open, she added a 305m success last night. 

Wakawaka Eh Eh missed almost six months of action but he is 2/2 since returning for Lynn Cook. He landed an A1 12 days prior and the drop to 480m was no hinderance to him, timing his challenge well to get up late on. It was a fifth win in just nine starts for him.

The 500m contest went to Roanna Grout for Barry Denby. He popped out to lead and was getting the better of the argument when his closest rival was interfered with on the run-in.