SIS Sprint semis see Lesleys Buddy the quickest qualifier

SIS Sprint final field set

Paul Young's Lesleys Buddy was the quickest of the three semi-final winners in the SIS Sprint at Harlow, coming away far better than he had a week ago in the heats to give Nightingale Crew a six-length beating. Gemma Evans has another Cat One finalist but he was never a factor behind the winner who roared clear in very impressive fashion. 

Quickest in the heats had been Maxine Locke's Headford Sarah and she got herself safely through to the final with another strong display over this trip. She just about gets 480m, but she has the early pace to get herself in the mix over this short and the stamina to run away from sprint types in the second half of the race. Yahoo Megan chased her home for Patrick Janssens, and we know what he can do with veterans in Cat One finals! 

The other semi went the way of Bretons Girl for Nathan Hunt. She was led up on the outside but Patrick Browne's Sunnyside Ted but she took the measure of that one as they turned for home, running out a comfortable winner in the end. She had beaten Lesleys Buddy in the heats and now has the innermost draw for the final. 

Hunt also had a winner on the undercard courtesy of Whisky Man. He showed plenty of pace to the bend which allowed him to avoid all of the trouble behind him at the turn. Picking up the lead at the second bend, he cleared right away from his rivals to run out a 10 and a quarter length winner. 

There was also a double for Darren Fenn who saw Barrington Chap take the opening contest on the card. Fenn has only had his license since September, with this being his first open winner. He popped out in front and never looked like he would be caught, eventually bolting up by five and three-quarter lengths.

On a superb night for Fenn, he quickly followed open race winner number one with number two as Likeyoustoleit got herself to the front heading to the back. She had only won an A6 the time before but the track knowledge was a help to her on this occasion to beat some better fancied types with less experience here. 

The maiden final went to Gemma Evans and Alien Tiger who had won his heat impressively last week. He got himself to the lead at the opening bend but got distracted by something on the run for home which lessened his margin of superiority over his rivals. He was value for a good bit more, making it three wins in four starts for Evans. 

Drombeg Doro was the other open race winner on the card, scoring over six bends for Dave Lee. It was only the second race run over six bends there this year, with none at all in 2025. He got himself into the lead halfway around the opening two bends and was allowed to come home in his own time out in front. 

Kodi keeps on winning

The winning run for The Other Kodi stretched to six last night at Nottingham as Barry Denby's dog overcame another wider than ideal starting slot to get across and into the lead on the run to the opening bend, riding a bump of his own making on the way. He has hit such a rich vein of form of late, and although things will get tougher with the Premier Greyhound Racing Eclipse starting next week, his early pace could see him play a part. 

The long drive down from Scotland won't have seen as lengthy on the way back for William Hamilton after Toddys Tank caused a 16/1 surprise in a time just two spots slower than The Other Kodi. Hamilton has been patient with him, winning on debut for the kennel in mid-July but not seen again until last week. He made all of the running here, showing something closer to the form that took him to Birmingham and All England Cup finals.

The last two wins for Born Scooby have both come from off the back of the handicap at Newcastle, back in open race company last night to good effect to pick up a win for Savva Roberts. A couple of missed breaks elsewhere in the field helped him turn handier to the speed than is often the case with him and that allowed him to pick up the lead turning for home. 

A short two-bend contest was won by Kim Billingham-Hine's Newinn Batchelor. He enjoyed a very successful time of things to close out 2025, so it will be interesting to see if he can use this success as a launchpad to a sequence of them. It was his sixth win in 14 visits to Nottingham, a track where he is a former track record holder over this 255m distance. 

Robert Hall took the other open on the card with Deelish Kobe. It was a scrappy contest that saw him squeezed out a couple of times, showing a good attitude to get his head in front on the run for the line.