Scooby is a Diamond for Hunt in the Coral Puppy Cup final
There was a surprise in the final of the Coral Romford Puppy Cup on Friday night as Magical Luka lost his unbeaten record at the paws of Scooby Diamond.
Nathan Hunt wins the Coral Romford Puppy Cup
Scooby Diamond sprung a 14/1 surprise in the final of the Coral Romford Puppy Cup on Friday night, handing Nathan Hunt another Category One winner. In a race where all eyes were on the unbeaten Magical Luka, it was Scooby Diamond who showed first, out trapping her rivals to take the lead at the opening bend.
A slow break from Luka was his undoing, running into the winner at the opening bend and then just unable to find a way past, checking up a couple of times behind Hunt's gallant front runner. For Luka, it felt like a puppyish display of a dog who lacks experience of going past, for the winner, it was a perfect execution of getting on the bunny and continuing to dig deep.
Her dam Scooby Duchess was runner-up to Rafa Moho in the 2022 Irish Oaks, with Diamond part of her first litter. Litter brother Aero Najem also made the final, finishing fifth. It was Paul Young's Droopys Alldeway who was left to throw down the biggest challenge to the winner, going down by a length at the line.
It was an excellent night for Hunt who landed the opening contest of the night with Kilara Berb as well as picking up a 575m contest with the consistent Untold Paanaga, the latter taking full advantage of plenty of room on the inside.
The only other kennel to get more than one winner on the night was that of Dave Lee who scored with Ontherun Eden as well as pulling off a surprise of his own with 12/1 scorer, Grove Patrick who picked up the sprint contest on the evening.
Those who waited around for the final race were treated to an excellent display from Gary The Arb. Belinda Green's charge picked up Fabulous Sonique, the pair of them among the most regular 575m winners over the past year or so.
A win for Jazzy George may not have been much compensation on the drive home for the Kevin Hutton kennel but it was good to see he didn't lose any confidence after a rough ride behind his kennelmate in the semis of the Puppy Cup last week. A promising puppy himself, he landed his contest in an identical 24.20 to the winning time of the feature race.
Gothic Kitty is in flying form at present for Michelle Brown, adding another 750m contest to her winning haul. She clocked a sub 24-second split on her way to victory, her early gears keeping her out ahead over eight bends.
It was open win number 12 of the year for Piemans Goalie. He has been a solid performer all year for David Mullins, that tally coming from 29 open race starts. Chilli Drago also landed a blow for the locals, picking up a 575m contest for Young. The other open on the night went to Ricky Holloway's Droopys Tiffany, a third double-figure odds winner on the card.
Scooby Diamond lands the Coral Romford Puppy Cup Photo: © Steve Nash
Untold Paanga wins a Champion Stakes Trial Stake for Nathan Hunt Photo: © Steve Nash
Kilara Berb was the first leg of a Hunt hat-trick Photo: © Steve Nash
Gary The Arb wins for Belinda Green Photo: © Steve Nash
Jazzy George lands the Puppy Cup consolation contest Photo: © Steve Nash
Piemans Goalie wins another Romford open Photo: © Steve Nash
Gothic Kitty wins the Mitch Millward Memorial Marathon for Michelle Brown Photo: © Steve Nash
Sunderland doubles for Roberts and Heilbron
Stonepark Hoffa over four bends has been a rare sight but he stays Sunderland's 450m absolutely fine, despite having the two-bend speed. to break the clock at the track. He landed the final of a dual distance competition by a couple of lengths in 26.82, with a 4.85 split seeing him comfortably round in front. The time was only 11 spots off Lion Heart's fastest of 2025 for the trip. Savva Roberts also saw his Brynoffa Pippy hit the line in front over four bends.
Tom Heilbron was out of luck with Innfield Storm behind Brynoffa Pippy but he picked up a double himself on the night. Optic Pharaoh won the initial open on the card before Romeo Alonso added a 640m contest. He has not hit the same heights as his half-siblings Ability and Alliance but he has found the winning thread of late, notching up a hat-trick.
Cunnigar King was the quicker of the two sprint winners on the card. Mark Bulmer's litter brother to Ballinakill Liam has won five of his last six starts, producing a very smart 15.53 on his drop back to two bends. The other sprint went the way of Billys Trump for Jill Suthurst.
A single spot split the other two open race winners of the night. Blackeyed Keyes for Graham Strike just edged out Ted Soppitt's Sunnyside Gurkha with a 27.25 success, though his was less expected at 12/1 compared to 6/4.
Four invitational races headline Sheffield
With added prize money to the winner, Invitational races have been cropping up at Doncaster and Sheffield of late. There were four of them at Owlerton last night with two spots splitting Easy Maximus for Gwyneth Rees and Catunda Ciaran for Stepher Naylor.
A sprint contest saw Paul Prior's Colliers Buckholz come out on top while in the stayers event, the victory went to Freyas Queen for Suzie Oxley. It was a first open race winner for the latter trainer who has only had the licence about nine months.
Upcoming Opens
Saturday: Central Park ♦ Doncaster
Sunday: Sheffield
Monday: Nottingham
Friday: Sunderland
