Sydney tells his Laurels rivals that Aayamza champion

ARC Laurels belongs to Aayamza Sydney

Saturday night was one last hurrah for Perry Barr when it comes to Cat One racing. The ARC Laurels was the last big final that the track will host and what a way to go out. The field was made up of some of the most consistent performers at the highest level in recent years and the race lived up to the billing. 

Owner of the year at the GBGB awards is based on points accumulated in the prior year by greyhounds in that ownership. If it were based on pure passion, surely Lorraine Hyde-Banning of the Ayamzaboys Syndicate would have won a slew of them by now. Finding a way to bottle it up is a must!

Aayamza Sydney is a master at digging deep and to claw back Druids Say Go was one of the finest runs of his career. The Oaks champion in full flight is machine-like for Patrick Janssens but it was the John Mullins-trained dog who just saw the 480m out better to claim the win in 27.78. That was just three spots outside the track record that he had set in the semis last week.

It was a gallant run in third from Churchfield Syd for Richard Rees. It was always going to be difficult once he didn't lead but he stuck to his guns to add another consistent effort to an outstanding career. Wrighty (Mullins), Armagh Daithi (Mark Wallis) and Coppice Trophy (Kevin Hutton) rounded out the finalists.

Wallis in charge on the undercard

Half of the other six opens on the Perry Barr card went the way of the Mark Wallis team. The winners started with Bombay Nutty who trapped better than can sometimes be the case to quickly take control of a 660m contest. While his 39.87 was not the pick of his form there, he has three of the five fastest times of the year over the trip.

Ballinakill Liam took out the sprint contest in 15.86, a new best for 2025. It was a belated first win for connections having made the final of the PGR Puppy Derby last month. The winners were rounded out by Ballymac Taylor in the 710m race. Breton Molly set the early fractions but the winner timed her run to perfection.

Pat Doocey got on the scoresheet courtesy of Hilton Wolf. He was a length away from qualifying for the Laurels final seven days prior and made up for some of that disappointment with a fluent success. Inspector kicked off the open races with a narrow win in a maiden stayers for Dougie Butler while Southfield Poppy saw off Bacon Roll in a bitches contest for Kevin Hutton.

Hogans Hawk lands the Hunt Cup at Oxford

Seamus Cahill's bitch had gone quickest in the heats but found trouble when Ballymac Madgie has smashed out in the semis. Sadly for Shaun Gresham, Madgie had left her trapping boots at home in the final while Hogans Hawk had enough in the locker to turn close enough behind Jason Heath's Burrows Eclipse to grab the lead from an early stage. 

The strong stayers in Alright Patricia and Millridge Tanic were able to stay on to fill out the frame for David Lewis and Chris Fereday but neither were going to be able to catch a Hawk when she had flown. The other finalist was also one of Heath's, Beloved Brenda.

Although Lewis was out of luck with Alright Patricia, he landed a double on the card with Alright Gordy in an eight bend contest and Alright Irene in a stayers race. Kevin Hutton also landed a double with Droopys Doris extending her winning run to six to add to a win from Highview Andy earlier in the night. 

Shakira heads Brighton Belle runners

Three semi-final runs last night in the Coral Brighton Belle saw Liz McNair's Queen Shakira set the clear standard. All three semis went to the red-jacketed runners with Highview Jasman (Kevin Hutton) and Harlequin Beauty (Seamus Cahill) taking out the other pair. Dark Madam made it two in the final for Cahill when chasing home Queen Shakira, Hutton did the same with Resonate with Paul Donovan's Runaway Dior taking the runner-up spot behind Harlequin Beauty to make the Cat One decider next Saturday night.

Three heats of the Hove Puppy Cup over 500m saw wins for Headford Asher (Maxine Locke), Gingers Tali (Patrick Browne) and Newinn Oscar (Nathan Hunt) with just a hair over two lengths covering the three of them. It was Headford Asher with a 29.21 success who set the standard ahead of the Cat Two final. 

There were also three heats of a sprint where King Presley made it a double on the night for McNair. Locke also doubled up on the evening with Tullymurry Dylan adding a heat win to his sprinting resume. Guzzler landed the final heat for Belinda Green. Newinn Benni for Derek Knight and Scooby Pacemaker for Richard Rees were the other two winners on the open race card.

Victory to tragedy at Monmore

The sprint final on the card was decimated by Nathan Hunt's Fire And Ice. He had set a FOY in the heats and came home an easy four and a half length winner in the final. Tragedy struck, however, as Fire And Ice subsequently collapsed and passed away. Our condolences to the Hunt team and to owner Jonathan Deane on the loss of their star who won 14 of his 26 starts.

There was just one other open on the Monmore card. Mongys Wild landed short odds to pick up a 684m contest. The PGR Golden Jacket gets underway at the track on May 3 over that distance. It is a rarely used trip but you'd have to go back to 2019 and Antigua Fire to find a quicker time.

Head Count adds to her Central Park wins

It's 11 wins from 20 career starts now for Barry O'Sullivan's smart stayer and 9/10 when racing at the Kent venue. The only time that she has tasted defeat at Central Park was in the final of the ARC Cesarewitch behind Garfiney Blaze back in January. Stuart Maplesden won the only four bend open on the card with Farmway Shady, while Julie Luckhurst took the other stayers contest with Earls Poppy. It was her six bend debut and she won in a time two spots quicker than Head Count. 

Joker wins on return to Yarmouth

A sprint open win at Towcester last Sunday, a four bend open win at Yarmouth on Saturday, all in a week's work for John Mullins's Bombay The Joker. The veteran has always been an adaptable type when it comes to track and distance, winning for the 13th time in open race company.

The other 462m contest went to Badminton Satie for Pamela Cross, a debut open win after starting in A7 last June. Two staying contests went to Bogger Cash for Mark Newberry and Pavilion Colleen for Sharon Knights. The former now has three of the top seven times over the 659m trip this year while the latter was making a successful UK debut.