Track record for Scooby while Gold glitters and Resonate strikes the right chord

Picture from Central Park's X feed

Scooby dominates the Kent Plate field

The meteoric rise of Scooby The Lady continued with not only a success in the final of the Arena Racing Company Kent Plate for Richard Rees last night, but by setting a new track record in the process. That was not unexpected for at least one of her owners who mentioned on X during the week that she would do exactly that!

She was electric again as soon as her paws touched the sand, pacing to the front at the opening bend. Proper Heiress got into a position to challenge but she cut him off at the turn forcing him to check. He was still close enough turning into the back but Scooby The Lady kept pouring on the pressure, going away again at the line. 

It would be a surprise if there was not a Derby tilt off the back of that. There could be a return to her home track of Hove and a run in the Brighton Belle but that final is just five days prior to the opening round kicking off at Towcester. That will be left for connections to discuss but wherever she goes, she will have plenty of new fan club members in tow.

Droopys Graph couldn't go with the brute pace of the front pair early on but he was far from disgraced in third, doing the best of his work late in the day. Cinderella Tell had shown plenty of boot to the bend again to lead up past the line first time but he got a nudge when Proper Heiress checked off the heels of the winner and couldn't find a way back. Burrows Charm and Ballymac Axel made up the field.

There was also a new track record over 664m as Bubbly Evie romped to a nine and a quarter length victory for Tony Dean in 39.77. That is the third time that the clock has been lowered already in 2026. It was just start number 12 in her career, her fourth since coming over from Ireland, and some of the big staying competitions later in the year will see her in the mix.

Just three spots separated Thurlesbeg Plato from the sprint clock of Romeo Steel. That made it a perfect 3/3 since joining the kennel of Paul Donovan, 4/4 when running over two bends in his career and a seventh win on the bounce overall. There is still three months until the Silver Salver but that looks an obvious place for him to head towards.

It was an strong winning night for Patrick Janssens, picking up four races on the undercard. Such is the strength in depth of the team, the four combined at a touch over 11/8 for the acca.  

Romeo Tomcat was second only to Scooby The Lady over 491m winning times on the night, closing the evening out in style with a solid 28.87. Credit too to Dean Childs's Distant Hiker in second. He has not won since a Romford A1 in September but he has kept seriously strong company since and has never been beaten far. Slick Skylark also landed a 491m contest, finishing off well to grab the money late on.

Over six bends, there were wins for Romeo Empire and Fabulous Heka. The former produced the third quickest time of the year over the trip, with the latter back to winning ways after chasing home both Tomcat and Empire in the final of the BGBF British Breeders Stakes at Nottingham.

Dan Brabon picked up a double on the card, half expected and half a massive shock. Bumble Belles has won eight times at Central Park, with this the third time that she has won back-to-back contests. Our Big Bill was a 50/1 surprise for punters, turning over Romeo Ability. He was just 1/29 in his career coming into the contest.

A marathon went to Reality Power for Robert Emery. Hopes Candy loomed up at the fifth bend to poke her head in front, the pair continued to swap the lead which then almost saw them getting nailed by Bombay Hilda from the clouds on the line. 

Joyces Wallander for Nick Carter and Barry O'Sullivan's Harlequin Brinn picked up the other two opens on the card, a first win at the level for the pair of them. 

Gold shows his worth in the Puppy Derby

The final of the Ladbrokes Puppy Derby was over in short order when Underground Gold paced up best to the bend and went around in front. He has shown on a number of occasions at the track already in his short race career that he is an outstanding prospect, and he continued to furnish his reputation with a six-length beating of Droopys Script. 

A winning time of 27.79 matched his own fastest of the year at the track, boasting the three quickest efforts now in 2026 around Monmore. The runner-up paced up well for Maxine Locke from what had looked a great draw and improved on his semi-final winning time. 

The field was full of some cracking prospects for the rest of this year and beyond with Aayamza Shazza coming home in third in front of Newinn Jolly, Droopys Vicar and Bowmers Buddy. 

Underground Gold is now as short as 12/1 for the Derby which seems on the light side given he is yet to have a look at Towcester. The record of the winners of this competition has not been great when heading to the Derby but he might just be the one to buck the trend of early exits. 

It was an excellent night for the Pat Doocey kennel, picking up a treble of sprints on the evening. The 210m distance is not used often with the veteran Longacres Gordon taking the win in a time less than three lengths off the track record. 

Longacres Miss and Longacres King both added to the winning run over 264m, with the former slotting herself into the top 10 times of the year over the longer two-bend distance. 

There were a pair of doubles on the night for David Mullins and Richie Taberner. Zenith Jimbombom and Zenith Legend did the business for Mullins. The first of them is a three-time Category One semi-finalist, missing out on a spot in the Kent Plate decider by a short head and a neck. The second has been a revelation since stepped up to six bends, getting up late on to grab the win.

Aero Boris and Aero Sophie picked up the final two races on the card for Taberner. Boris was a BGBF British Bred Derby finalist at the backend of 2025, winning for the third time in six starts over Monmore's 630m trip this year. Sophie picked the perfect time to produce the second quickest sectional of her life at the track to get the better of Oaks runner-up Kilwest Diva.

Brian Thompson got on the scoresheet via the always popular Vixons Filofax. He got on the bunny early on to land his first success since August. Nathan Hunt picked up the other open race on the card with Angelsey Milo in a messy puppy contest. 

Hutton lands the Hunt Cup with Resonate

Resonate was well-backed into 2/1 to land the bet365 Hunt Cup at Oxford and the money was spot on as she cleared the field at the opening bend around the outside. The track was on the slow side so the winning time of 39.64 was not close to the best of her efforts on the clock but she put the race to bed in impressive fashion for Kevin Hutton.

A slow start from Remember Betty worked in the favour of Matt Dartnall's bitch as she was able to pick the right line up the inside. of the crowding at the first bend to get into a challenging position. She was never going to pick up the winner but she stuck to her guns over a distance that is on the short side for her. 

Java Joan finished third, she has shown up well throughout the competition and along with Powerhouse Duke were the least exposed in the line-up. Ballymac Madgie and The Other Winx found early trouble and were left with no chance of getting into the contest.

Resonate was completing a quick double for Hutton who had Highfield Andy crack out in the prior contest to land a 12/1 surprise, and add to his success at the track a week prior. 

It was an excellent night for Angie Kibble, landing a pair of opens with Ballymac Kolbe and Ballymac Loca, as well as grabbing a graded double on the night. The former is a solid top grade sprinter at the track while the latter is a veteran who marked her 100th start with a 650m success. 

David Lewis was the third trainer on the card to pick up a pair of winners, successful with Lets Go Stacey and Alright Patricia. They are at very different ends to their careers, Stacey a puppy who has made a very promising start and Patricia the veteran who relished the return to eight bends. 

Three other opens on the card were won by Rachel Hill's Maggies Dream, Unlikely Barry for Seamus Gaughan and Gallant Star for Richard Baker. 

Laurels shocks as Aladdin leads the way

Neither ante-post favourite Slingshot Poppy nor the returning Wicky Ned made it out of the first round of the Laurels at Dunstall Park last night, with Droopys Aladdin now the market leader after his quickest of the night success for Mike Burton. 

He saw off the challenge of Romeo Steel who is his biggest challenger in the betting by three and three-quarter lengths. An uncharacteristically slow exit from the traps worked in his favour, able to move left the rails in the white jacket before slipping up the inside of his rivals at the opening bend after Bower Sheeran and Romeo Steel came together. 

Although Wicky Ned exited the competition, there was a win from Elusivenomore for Jimmy Fenwick in the opening heat. He enjoys his racing from the red jacket and used the inside draw to his advantage to poach a lead at the opening turn.

It was Maxine Locke's Ballymac Blanco who was the second fastest heat winner, powering clear late on to turn a length lead at the third bend into three and three-quarters come the line. 

Seven of the 12 contests on the night went to the dog in red with Droopys Trade another to take full advantage of the innermost starting slot, as well as his 37kg size. He is now 2/2 since joining Craig Morris.

Bitches picked up the other two heats, also both clad in red. Droopys Doris was the quicker of the pair, adding to her strong recent run of form around Oxford to land a win for Kevin Hutton.

Nathan Hunt scored with Sams Magic in the other heat, rattling off a hat-trick of wins at the track. She was not as quickly into stride as she had been in the other two successes but she is really starting to put her best foot forward. 

It was also the start of the Category Two Dunstall Dash and the sprinters look set to put on a show throughout this competition with four of the heats won between 15.72-15.77 and just 20 spots covering all six.

Michelle Brown's Roanna Mamba laid down the quickest time of the night. He started a winning spree at Doncaster last October, scoring in 14 of 20 starts from that point to now, putting his heat to bed in a matter of strides.

A single spot slower was Mark Wallis's Crafty Alejandro. He has the fastest sprint time of the year so far at Monmore, is top five at Towcester and is now top five at Dunstall Park as well. In 13 races in Ireland he only ever ran over 525y but has found his calling as as sprinter. 

The current quickest of the year at the track is Newinn Souly who landed his heat for Kim Billingham-Hine. The 2025 Guys and Dolls champion got back in the winning groove at this track last week and is now a perfect 5/5 here.

Another who has some strong Dunstall form is Jazzy George, a second winner on the night for Hutton. Runner-up to Shadow Storm in the Scurry last October, he was a finalist in the Sandy Lane Sprint most recently and continues in great form. 

Both Jazzy George and Good Acclaim won their heats from the orange jacket, perhaps needing their efforts marked up a hair because of that. Stuart Tighe's runner has been making waves in sprints this year and took his opportunity with relative ease. 

The other heat was won by Ballarue Rolo for Samantha Lapidge. He looked to have a tough heat with Golden Sprint runner-up Swift Hostile to his right but he led up and was not for catching.

Braces for Calvert, Draper and Meek at Doncaster 

Although Swift Hostile didn't get his head in front at Dunstall, Rose Draper picked up a pair of winners at Doncaster. Rockmount Lucy is building up a solid body of work over 661m this year, with three of the five quickest times. Audience picked up a 450m contest in 27.40, a new fastest of the year to round out the double and go one better than the last two weeks at the track.

Debbie Calvert had Ferryforth Cody and Annadown Panther produce the goods over 483m and 450m respectively. The former has five A2 wins at the track but his consistency saw him grab his first open while the latter was bringing up a hat-trick of wins and a fourth in her last five outings. 

In a night of doubles at the track Paul Meek got in on the act with Flyhigh Bully and Heathmill Nidge, both over 450m. The pair are both sprint winners at their home track of Dunstall, with the second of them picking up a couple of D1 wins since the turn of the year.

Colliers Bucholz would not have been out of place in the Dunstall Dash but Paul Prior kept him at Doncaster to make it eight wins from his last 11 starts. His 16.85 success is the third quickest of the year so far.

There was a first run at Doncaster for Brigadier Brindle who picked up an 8/1 success for John Spolander. He produced the best break to take the lead early and there was no way back for his rivals. 

Susan Watson had enjoyed back-to-back weeks with a Doncaster treble but had to be content with a single winner on the card last night. Magical Boss was the one to provide the success, adding to three B1 wins so far this year.

Another sprint was the other contest of the night with victory going to Ballymac Dalton for Beverly Heaton.  His last 13 races have seen six wins and six runner-up efforts, working his way from D3 to D1 at Kinsley and now picking up an open.