Towcester treble for Heilbron including quickest in Produce Stakes

Liberty goes fastest in the Produce Stakes

The second round of the Produce Stakes saw Romeo Liberty produce the quickest winning time. Part of an excellent afternoon for Tom Heilbron, he was in a heat where the splits were slick, just getting to the bend in front. He looked to find 500m as far as he wanted to go in the opening round but this played out better for him. 

Keefill Walker is 2/2 in the competition for Phil Milner, pinging out and making all of the running. A 3.82 split was an improvement on his opening round effort, putting himself in a position early where the strong running Harton Whirlwind (who was the quickest in the opening round) was unable to get to him. 

Behind Harton Whirlwind last week was Singalong Cherry. Pat Buckley's raider should continue to improve as she gains experience of the track. She was the ante-post favourite going into the competition and booked her spot in the semis with a powerful performance that saw her pick up the front-running Countess Penny in the dying strides. 

Another who timed his challenge to perfection was Ballycian Boy for John Flaherty. He had looked to have a tidy draw to work from on paper with a couple on the inside drawn a little awkwardly. He turned handy enough to the speed, able to close in from the halfway mark until picking up the running late on. 

There were also heats of the Northamptonshire Sprint on the card where Heilbron had the quickest again, this time in the shape of Unanimous Leo. He had arrived in England as a Derby runner for Buckley when known as Glengar Leo. Knocked out in a heat that contained eventual champion Lennies Eddie, he has been converted to a sprinter, making every yard here. 

Toddys Wolf is a very smart type for the kennel over both two and four bends. He was a finalist in both the Winter Derby at Monmore and the Laurels at Dunstall Park earlier on in the year as well as being a semi-finalist in last year's National Sprint and this year's sprint competition at the Derby meeting. This track suits well, getting to the lead early on.

One of the most interesting sprinters in the country at present is Magical Jason. Kevin Hutton's charge looked one to follow when clocking 15.82 on his debut for the kennel at Dunstall Park. His stamina ran out over four bends on his only other start prior to yesterday where the return to sprinting saw him back in a far better light.

The other heat went to Headford Fiona for Maxine Locke. Her trapping saw her take an early lead and with some trouble behind her at the bend, she came clear to score by seven lengths come the line. Consistency is her strong suit and it was remarkable that her 15.75 (the same time as Toddys Wolf) was the slowest heat winning time!

Two other opens on the undercard to discuss with Jazzy Soul picking up a win for Heather Dimmock in the first of them. A solid enough type for Hutton over 450m at Oxford, he had run purely in sprints at Towcester for his new kennel prior to yesterday, using that speed to grab the early lead in a 460m contest and beat Dreaming Francis of Hutton's into second. 

Patrick Browne took the final race on the afternoon with Gingers Layla. She was another who got to the opening bend in front on an afternoon where it was difficult to make up ground from off the pace. A semi-finalist in the Sussex Cup at her home track of Hove, this was her first foray away from the south coast.

Sheffield treble for Fenwick

Jimmy Fenwick was the man to beat at Sheffield with a sparkling treble led by 3 Steps to Victory finalist Brunssum Bubble. He needed his slick exit and the advantage that it gained him with strong stayer Distant Fox turning second to him, holding off Rose Draper's runner by a head.

Clonbrien Piper was pitched straight into the Select Stayers on his debut for Fenwick, leading that field until the last bend before fading out of things. He was dropped to 500m here but had to do things the hard way, last on the apex of the opening two bends and still four lengths off the lead having moved into second at the third bend. He was strong through the line to grab the money late. 

The treble was kicked off by Zenith Flash in a sprint where a level break was more than enough to see him pace into the lead at the opening bend. He only had two races in Ireland, clocking the second quickest sprint time this year at Thurles in the second of those, so it shouldn't be a shock that he was a fluent scorer on his debut for Fenwick.

Performance of the afternoon on the track came from Magical Keith. Gary Griffiths's charge was a single spot off the 480m track record as he smashed out to make all of the running. He is in rude health at present, a very impressive winner at Monmore on his most recent start and this was better, giving a solid yardstick in Tiermana Rocky a nine-length thrashing. 

Jacktavern Turbo was a very impressive winner a week back and doubled up on that with another brutally efficient performance from the front for William Hamilton. He was away and gone to make it two wins in three starts for the kennel and back up the impression that he made last time out. 

The quickest of the three sprint race winners on the card was Draper's Brickhill Patsy. She was an A4 winner on her debut for the kennel at the end of July but a 15.88 over the two-bend trip suggests that this might be her distance, for now at least. 

Sean Davy took the other sprint with Good Levi. It was his first race action since mid-July but he was straight back to winning ways having suffered his first defeat for the kennel when last seen. This took his record to 3/4, dipping a length under 16 seconds with this performance. 

Arena Racing Company Puppy Classic semi-finalist Poppy Queen was stepped up to six bends for the first time by Carl Jackson to great effect. She got to the front at the end of the back straight the second time round and put almost six lengths into her rivals from that point. Just five spots slower than Brunssum Bubble off a 36 spot inferior sectional, the October 24 pup could be a smart stayer in the making. 

The surprise on the afternoon came from the all-the-way win of Esther Driver's Stellas Incharge. She was sent off at 12/1 but showed the best pace to the bend and never looked like she was going to be coming back to them. Kicking off in A6 at the start of May, she has progressed well over the summer. 

Karl Parsonage took the other open on the card with Coleridge Rudi who was another to show plenty of pace to the bend. He was not the quickest into stride but he was in control by the opening bend, eventually putting more than six lengths into his field by the time the line came.

Joe bounces back to winning ways at the Valley

It had been a while since Ashway Joe got his head in front for Adrian Rawlings but a ping break saw him return to winning ways in style over six bends. He produced what is still the fourth quickest time of the year over the 645m distance back in February when just picked up by his kennelmate Ashway June, with this his first open race success and his first victory over six bends.

Frank Bryce took the four-bend contest with Baggios Wildcat. It was his breakthrough at open race level having worked his way up through the grades at this venue over the summer. Klassical Emily had set the fractions but she was a sitting duck off the home bend for the winner who swept past and went clear. 

A sprint race went to Dalton Smith's Al Be Chloe after Smith had been out of luck with Klassical Emily. Al Be Chloe had picked up a D2 on her home track of Dunstall Park on her most recent outing, quickly doubling up just four days later to pick up her first open contest.