Woltemade is electric in the opening round of the Time Northern Flat

Newcastle quickest of the year recorded twice on Thursday

Jimmy Fenwick's Woltemade who was top of the ante-post market ahead of the opening round of the time Northern Flat, justified his position with a flying 28.13 success. That is the fastest time of the year at Newcastle, tying Slingshot Poppy who had set that in the opening race on the card. With a couple of competition wins under his belt already at this track, he set his stall out early to add a third. 

There was a double for Tom Heilbron led by the resurgent Droopys Bookem who has found his form again at the perfect time for connections. Grouchos Cossie had just managed to beat him to the punch at the opening turn but with such a strong runner turning so close, the game was already up, it was only a matter of when he pounced. Credit to the runner-up as well for holding him off as long as he did.

Another for Heilbron was Droopys Link who backed up his stunning win from a week ago with another success. He had always had a high level of talent, and if he can now bring consistency to the table as well, he is going to be a player at this level. Defending champion Naochra chased him home from an unfamiliar draw in the red jacket. 

The heats closed with an impressive win from Jimmy Gaskin's Deerjet Rocket. Drawn in the same heat as Wicky Ned, it was Fenwick's star who was sent off favourite despite having been seen in just one race since the Select Stakes last August. He will surely improve for having blown the cobwebs away but Gaskin's winner was visually spectacular, running away by more than eight lengths in 28.34.

Another to score by a wide margin was Bockos Buster. On just his second start since joining Savva Roberts, he began to repay the faith that had gone into his purchase and the step back up to a stiffer four bends. His sprinting pace saw him clear early on and none of his rivals ever looked like laying a glove on him, running riot by six and a half lengths. 

The final winner to discuss from the Northern Flat was Slingshot Louie. He was the big surprise of the round, scoring at 25/1 for Brian Fairbairn. He was slow to stride as he had been in a trial stake last week against Droopys Bookem, but without that same level of class to chase down, he made steady progress and got his head in front in the dying strides. 

Fairbairn was also responsible for the shortest priced winner of the night as Slingshot Poppy took off in the opening heat of the Arena Racing Company Angel of the North to clock her aforementioned 28.13. A short price in the ante-post market, there is no doubt that she is the quickest bitch in the field as long as she can overcome the semi-final stage which for some reason has been a stumbling block for her. 

There was a double in the Angel heats for Fenwick with Coppice Saphire kicking them off. She made the final of this competition last year having won her heat and semi, but produced her worst break of the competition when sent off the 7/4 market leader for the decider. She has strong claims on making the decider once more.

Her kennelmate Bluebell Teddy also made that final last year and she followed up in the very next heat. She had a decent battle with another Fenwick inmate in Elegant Shadow, coming home too strongly for the orange-jacketed runner to grab the lead heading to the final strides. 

It's a long way from Epping to Newcastle but Untold Ariary made the journey worthwhile for the Dave Lee team. She knows her way around these parts well having joined Lee from Glenn Foot, with her winning time second only to Slingshot Poppy. That will give Lee plenty of confidence that the trip will need to be made for three consecutive weeks. 

Newline Kielty showed the best early pace to lead up her heat for Darren Golightly. It was a third straight win for her after a pair of victories at Doncaster over 450m, and her speed to the bend should see her competitive in plenty more opens. 

Stuart Ray took the other heat with Blackhouse Kim in a race where those out the back as they crossed the line the first time came through to take the first two spots. She was the slowest of the heat winners as a result of that steady trap exit but she paced up well around the outside to take control at the three-quarters mark.

Rafa ducks under 16 seconds at Valley

There were also four opens at Valley last night where Quivers Rafa produced the pick of the efforts, dipping under 16 seconds with his sprint win for James Danahar.  It was his first win over the sprint trip, better known as a four-bend performer, but once hit the front on the run to the first bend, it was all over bar the shouting.

The other open sprint on the card went to Hawkfield Faith for Donna Davy. She too was the first to show and that was all that she required to absolutely rout her rivals by five and three-quarter lengths. That's back-to-back open wins for the veteran now, and three successes in her last four runs, adding to a D2 victory.

Over four bends the honours went to Christian Darch's Clongeel Bono. He slipped around the inside at the opening bend to hit the front and take a decent scalp in KAB Puppy Collar winner Outa The Clouds. It was also a third win in four starts for Clongeel Bono who was getting his head in front in an open race for the first time since January.

The other open on the night was a staying contest which went the way of Mongys Sydney for Tony Morgan. A half-brother to Mongys Wild, he was making just his second career start over six bends, the prior one coming back in February on just his fourth career start. He has strengthened up plenty since then, and can hopefully kick on from here.