Thursday trebles for Heath and Billingham-Hine

Three at Hove for Heath

Jason Heath had a treble at Hove last night, led by a winning UK debut from Smokestack Saxon. He wasn't the sharpest into stride but he paced up well, rode a slight bump at the first turn before opening up down the back. His 29.47 didn't tell the story, looking capable of taking a chunk off that in time. 

It had been a while since Beloved Brenda last got her head in front in an open race but the veteran picked up an A1 win in late April showing that she still has plenty of life in the legs. A February 21 whelp, she has not shown many signs of slowing down at the age of five, making all of the running.

There was a 695m winner to complete the Heath treble with Letter Eileen getting the job done. She'd had a couple of prior tries over the trip without success but made it third time lucky, in control of things from a relatively early stage. 

There was a quickfire double for Seamus Cahill, kicking off with Moving Force over 515m. His 29.98 was just the fifth time this year that the 30-second barrier has been breached over the distance, almost a length clear at the line the first time around to add to his win from last week.

Cahill's other winner was a surprise for punters as Cloheena Caelan took a sprint contest. His three prior runs at the track had all come over four bends, picking up an A5 on his most recent outing. The drop back to 285m clearly didn't do the half-brother to 2025 Irish Race of Champions finalist Singalong Molly any harm.

A slightly quicker time was produced in the other sprint on the card by Maxine Locke's Beaming Isla. She has been in great form of late, picking up her fourth win from her last five starts. The only defeat in that time came in the opening round of the Time Greyhound Nutrition Sprint at Towcester.

The performance of the night came from David Lewis's Alright Bullet. The August pup was quickest to the bend which gave him enough of a lead over the powerful Droopys Deploy to just hold on by an ever diminishing short head. A 29.11 final time marked it down as a very smart effort from an upwardly mobile youngster. 

Carl Gardiner got on the scoresheet courtesy of Easy Tizzy. She got the better of a dual with Ballymac Kinga, also by the minimum margin. The winner moved off at the opening bend to allow the runner-up up her inside, going two lengths down before coming back to win, though she should have done so with more ease, after being a little wayward coming home.

There was a winner for Derek Knight as Alien Chieftan justified. the market confidence that saw him sent off the 4/11 market leader. He took the race by the scruff of the neck in the opening strides and never looked like relinquishing that lead.

The final race of the night went to Zenith Sultan for Richard Rees. A 3.73 split was as slow as he has ever gone from the 500m traps at Hove but he showed a great attitude to put himself in the right position to take advantage of the gaps when they opened.  

Monmore treble for Billingham-Hine

Monmore also saw a treble winner in Kim Billingham-Hine. It was the second to last week of the Open Championship at the track where it would now take a special run of results next Thursday night to knock her off the top spot in the home side of the competition. 

Newinn Bachelor was an impressive winner of a deep sprint contest, showing the best gears to the bend to get the job done by three-quarters of a length from the consistent Longacres Arles. It is a fourth time in the top 15 of the year for the winner over the 264m distance.

Things didn't go to plan for Newinn Jolly at Towcester on Sunday afternoon but the Ladbrokes Puppy Derby finalist looked to appreciate the return to his home track with a solid win from the front in one of the puppy contest on the card.

The treble was rounded out by Onceina Lifetime who put plenty of distance into his rivals in a 630m contest.  His last two wins over the track and trip have seen him turn handier than was the case in his earlier efforts over six bends. With plenty of stamina in the locker, there was never a chance of him coming back to his field. 

Brian Thompson picked up a pair of winners, starting with Paradise Sky over four bends. She had really found her form again in recent weeks, winning three of her last four starts, with one of those in a sprint and a pair over four bends. 

A sprint saw the other winner for Thompson with Tullymurry India pinging the lids to victory. That sharp break was needed as Aero Pattika was roaring home late having had to go around the outside of the winner despite starting to his immediate left. 

There was a decent 37.89 effort over six bends for Face The Storm. He looked the type that was going to improve for going up in trip and so it proved, putting seven and a half lengths into his opponents. The win put Mike Burton into second place behind Kevin Hutton in the away trainers part of the Open Championship. 

Senehal Sydney saw off Armagh Daithi to pick up a win for Nathan Hunt. The race looked put to bed by the Mark Wallis runner at the opening bend but the eventual scorer had gone from last to second as the field entered the back and made relentless progress to grab the money late on. 

The final contest on the night went to Pat Doocey's Longacres Boycie. He has moved up the graded ladder from A9 to A3 over the 480m distance but he dropped back in trip to get his head in front for the first time in an open race. 

There was a surprise in the first open on the card with Patricia Cowdrill's No Step Back landing a 14/1 victory. This was another puppy contest with the winner getting his card marked as awkward when challenging late on.