Saturday doubles for Browne and Fradgely

Enough time at Hove for a Browne double

The cold weather saw abandonments of a number of Saturday cards, including the opening round of the Arena Racing Company Cesarewitch at Central Park which has been pushed back a week.

Hove managed to get the card on, though didn't quite make it all the way to the end as the cold started to take its toll. There was still plenty of time for the Patrick Browne team to have an excellent night, picking up a pair of the opens as well as the sole graded race which opened the card. 

Alan Lucas has been a big supporter of Browne and his Gingers prefix is well known around the country. Both winners carried the prefix with Prince and Tali doing the winning. Prince had a difficult time in the autumn, 0/9 immediately after his Category One BetGoodwin Pall Mall success at Oxford but he has hit form with a vengeance again, winning three of his last six.

The career of Tali has been a little bit stop-start so far but when she has had a chance to strut her stuff, she has shown herself to be a talent. It was her fourth win in just nine starts, and if connections get a clear run at her in 2026, she strikes as the type that we will be writing plenty more about.

There was a decent marker laid down early this year by Missile One for Seamus Cahill who set the quickest of the 500m times, stopping the clock in 29.11. That would have been a top 25 time in 2025, beaten only by a who's who of the top four-bend performers in the country.  One of those was himself, winning on Sussex Cup/Regency finals night in 29.02 last August.

Bluejig Baron returned from a spell on the sidelines with a smart win at Central Park last weekend and followed it up for Dave Lee on the south coast. It was good to see a veterans contest on the card, and hopefully there will be some more as it appears it would be a decent division at present.

Two staying races on the card were won by Dereks Legend for Richard Rees and Minstrels Six for Jason Heath. The former is a dog that many in the sport would love to see turn into a 'proper' hound this year to celebrate the legend that is Derek Burridge and the Trophy Boys who own him. The latter is a consistent type who was picking up the 11th open race win of her career, all at Hove and all over six bends, 10 of them over this 695m distance.

Jamie Kingsley was on the board with Timeless Times who has worked his way steadily up the top few grades before making this breakthrough at open class level. Horse racing fans of a certain vintage will remember Bill O'Gorman's sprinter of the same name who ran riot as a two-year-old in the summer of 1990 under Alan Munro, winning 16 of his 21 starts that year!

The other open on the card was a sprint contest which was won by Aghaburren Bucko for John Campbell. It was a debut success for his new kennel having moved from the Swindon range of Paul Foster. A February 23 whelp with only 12 races on his card, hopefully his new kennel can continue their success with him in the coming weeks.

Fradgely takes two of the three at Donny

There were only three opens on the Doncaster card, with two of those heading back with David Fradgely. Stonepark Wes was a regular at the track in 2025 and kicked off the new year with a win, albeit over the shorter 450m distance. That drop didn't phase him, running out a two and a quarter length winner in 27.70.

His absence from the 483m contest suggested that the kennel were sweet on the chances of Steel City Cup and Jimmy Wright Future Stars finalist Bouncing Monarch in that race. Sent off 8/13, he showed in front early and maintained the gallop for a 29.36 success. There were only 11 times quicker in 2025, a very smart start to the year for his first start outside of puppy status.

Kirsty Grayson took the sole sprint open with Slaneyside Swade. He has won 50% of his eight career starts now, including a pair of opens at this track and an invitational. Just an April 24 whelp, there should still be a little better to come from the quick-starting wide whose dam is a half-sister to El Tornillo.