Tomcat the one to beat in classy Yorkshire Derby Semi Finals

Tomcat the one to beat in classy Yorkshire Derby Semi Finals

The Semi-Finals of the £8,000 Category Two Yorkshire Derby take place at Doncaster on Saturday night with the Patrick Janssens trained Romeo Tomcat the one to beat after a sensational first round performance.

The Category Two competition may have only attracted 24 runners, but the standard of this Yorkshire Derby is higher than several of the recent Category One competitions in recent weeks and credit must go to Robert Watson, Promoter at Doncaster, for putting on the competition with the money coming from his own pocket.

The first Semi Final looks set to go the way of ROMEO TOMCAT. He got the better of Keefill Goose and Jacktavern Chief in the heats but didn't have things all his own way. Having been led to the opening bend by Phil Milner's Keefill Goose, he was able to overcome some crowding with the leader and Glenn Foot's Jacktavern Chief, who was bang in contention at that point. When hitting the front, he was able to show his class and could do so again, but his draw see's him again as the meat in that sandwich, so will need to be careful in the early stages, but if turning unscathed, then he ought to be tough to beat. Keefill Goose will again look to build up a winning lead while Jacktavern Chief has shown in the past that he can be hit and miss at the traps, but these traps may be more to his liking than at Monmore so rates a danger. Jimmy Gaskin's January 24 youngster On The Wall has always shown promise after an impressive debut victory, and things have just started to click for him in recent weeks, staying on well behind Slick Sentinel last week and he may not be far away again with a clear passage

The second Semi Final is again, another cracking contest. Slick Sentinel made a winning return to action following a couple of weeks off the card with an all the way success, and Patrick Janssens said yesterday that he expected him to come on for that run. If that's the case, then he could take all the beating if hitting the front. Not alot went right for Turnthemagicon in his heat last week, missing the break, and then finding trouble in running on a couple of occasions. If he can produce a better break in this contest, then it wouldn't be a surprise to see Maxine Locke's runner involved at the finish. Neither would it be a surprise to see the consistent Naochra involved at the finish again. John Flaherty's recent Northern Flat winner is capable off the front or coming from behind and is usually thereabouts in these sort of competitions, but, on the draw, Nathan Hunt's SCOOBY THE BOSS could trump them all. He is in good form at present, and like Naochra, is capable off the front or coming from off the pace. One of his usual starts ought to see him sitting handy in the early stages, and if close enough to the leaders rounding the final bends, then he could put his stamina to use and could prove too strong for these on the run for home.