Taberner treble in the BetGoodwin Steel City Cup heats

Photo courtesy of Rob Crawford

60 up for Taberner as three of four Steel City Cup runners score

The excellent 2026 campaign continued to see the open race winners roll in for Richie Taberner on Sunday afternoon as he took three of the six heats of the BetGoodwin Steel City Cup to bring up 60 winners on the year.

Holding Blaze was the quickest of the three, taking a heat that contained the ante-post favourite Woltemade. Jimmy Fenwick's dog missed it compared to what he can do, and having not quite cleared those inside him clearly, the winner drove around his outside to kick away down the back. It was an impressive performance from Holding Blaze who has picked up wins at three different tracks in his last four starts. 

The Taberner treble opened up with Moanteen Hatton. He has really settled into a rhythm, winning his third straight contest after successes at Monmore and Dunstall Park. He was awkward leaving the traps but still showed enough pace to the bend to control the inside. Slipping around the opening turns into the lead, he was well in control by the time they turned into the back straight.

Holding Aero was unfortunate to draw the Arc Birmingham Cup semi-final that contained Woltemade and Signet Nayla, the first two home in the final. He was a short price to get his Steel City Cup campaign off to the perfect start but was another to start awkwardly which put him on the back foot. He had to do plenty of running to get himself to the front but once there, he was never going to be picked up.

Quickest of the six heat winners and the shortest priced of them was Annadown Shadow for Sean Parker. He and Woltemade both made the final of the Gymcrack over track and trip earlier on in the year, adding a Juvenile Classic and Puppy Classic decider to his resume since. First to show on the run to the line first time, nothing was going to get close to him from that point. 

There was another win for Magical Keith, with Gary Griffiths's charge showing once more what an outstanding pick up he has been for the kennel. This track seems to suit him well, and his early pace makes him a tough dog to keep out of the frame in a competition, almost making the Ladbrokes Gold Cup final. He will have his chance to make a Cat One final next week.

Diane Henry took the other heat with Grouchos Cossie on an excellent day for the kennel. This was the closest heat with the three qualifiers separated by just half a length. Henry's winner was value for a little more than the official margin having encountered trouble on a couple of occasions, just running down the front-running Hasselbomb. All three of Henry's competition representatives made it into the semis.

There were a couple more open winners for Henry on the undercard with Betgoodwin Ben taking a maiden contest with a smart performance from the front. He had an issue earlier on in his career with turning in the traps but hopefully that is behind him and he can now show the class that he undoubtedly possesses. 

Savana Etna rounded out the afternoon with another for Henry, taking a little while longer to get on top than Betgoodwin Ben did but once she had got herself to the front at the three-quarters mark, she took a couple of lengths out of her field. Her other seven wins to this point had all come in sprints, off the mark over 500m on her 32nd career start.

There was also a sprint open on the card which saw Griffiths landing a double as Ruinthelonggame popped out in front to turn over a short-priced favourite. He has enjoyed an excellent summer, winning eight of his last 13 starts, with this a second open race win at Sheffield to add to three at Monmore. 

Plunge headlines Janssens Towcester double 

The return to the top for Droopys Plunge continued to gather pace at Towcester yesterday afternoon, with Patrick Janssens's 2025 Derby winner clocking a very smart 28.65 with a five-length success. He is taking a big step forward with each start, showing that there is still a huge amount of ability in him. Let's hope that he can continue to build and we'll see him back in Category One action to close out the year.

There was an open race double on the card for Janssens with Droopys Erlybird getting off the mark at the second time of asking. He had walked out on his debut in a 460m contest but couldn't have been more different over 500m, smashing the lids down with a 3.85 split. An April 25 whelp, he has a huge amount of potential.

There was also a double for Laurence Tuffin, both coming over the 460m trip. Romeo Elio was the quicker of the pair, able to ride some bumping at the opening bend to get himself to the front, adding to a win over the same trip last month. 

Fabulous Ramona was the other winner for Tuffin, a February 25 puppy who made a winning debut over four bends, having raced over 270m in each of her first seven career starts. She showed the benefits of being started in sprints with a nice turn of pace to make all of the running. 

There was a win over six bends for Vhagar, getting herself to the front much earlier than she had a week ago. By the time the field got to the opening bend she was in front having not gotten on top until the final stride seven days back. She now boasts four of the top 16 times of the year over 712m, adding to a remarkable strike rate that now stands at 61%, 30 wins from 49 starts for Wallis. 

There was a smart win for Heather Dimmock's Jazzy Ace who has been in sparkling form ever since arriving at the kennel. A 26.64 given that he was last to stride and went via the jumps track at the opening couple of bends was impressive. He swooped around his rivals to get to the front at halfway to pick up a ninth win in 16 starts for Dimmock.

Makeit River is capable of producing some flying splits when she times her break right, clocking a 3.79 on her way to victory for Frank Gray. That allowed the veteran to escape her rivals with odds-on favourite Stitched Pockets fluffing her lines at the boxes before running on well from the back.