Tomcat comes out on top in the British Breeders Stakes

Tomcat on top at Nottingham

Romeo Tomcat emerged victorious from the final of the BGBF British Breeders Stakes at Nottingham last night for Patrick Janssens. He took off down the back to gain revenge for his first round defeat at the paws of Eagles Respect, having been unable to pick up the strong stayer on that occasion. 

Last night with a pair of runs under his belt, he was right back to his best, driving the third bend hard to gain an unassailable advantage, coming home in a swift 29.17.  Angie Kibble's runner-up lost nothing in defeat, sticking to his task with Romeo Empire running on to grab third for Janssens.

There was a flying sprint win for Janssens as well with Romeo Steel clocking 17.41. He was nine spots off his track record which he produced on this night a year ago. It was, however, a new fastest of the year for the 305m distance.

The marathon produced a sublime performance from Greenwell Gypsy who made it a perfect 4/4 over eight bends in her career, setting a new track record in the process. It is a rarely used distance at the track but she took 17 spots off the clock of Bubbly Time which had stood since 2014. The John Flaherty-trained runner can add some real spice to the Dorando on Derby final night.

Esther Driver picked up a double on the card in the last two races courtesy of Hopes Ompaloompa and No Better Feelin. The first of those produced a very smart 29.34 effort on just his second run of 2026. He picked up nine open race wins last year and made it to the final of the Eclipse.

The latter has been in decent winning form already this year, notching up his third straight win over track and trip, his fifth straight win when running at Nottingham as well as his seventh in a row over 500m here.

A shorter two-bend contest was won by William Hamilton's Carrick Fergie. The veteran has seen very limited action since winning the Champion Open Unraced at Kilkenny in May 2023, but he had shown in a couple of trials this year that there was still a good level of ability in the legs.

Jason Gray picked up the other open on the night with Deelish Denzel. He paced up best to take the lead into the opening corner, stretching clear by four and a half lengths from his rivals. It was a career-best run for the son of Droopys Sydney and a great time to get his head back in front.