So, after a frantic day in the Swindon racing office, the draw for the Ladbrokes Mobile Arc has been sorted. Hooray! I've taken a couple of hours to look at it (yes, some thought does go into these blog posts) so here's my take on the races, and my 3 greyhounds that will qualify from each:
Heat 1
We start things off with a bit of an easy one. The stand out greyhound in this race is trap 6 Sawpit Sensation. He really caught the eye on his Swindon debut when he romped up after properly fluffing the start up, and he posted a very decent 28.55 (calc). Inside him is Coom Bullet, who finally has middle tag on him. Bullet is certainly classy in his own right. He will veer towards the trap 3/4 lane on the run up, which could cause a problem for Tinas Zodiac and Salacres Town, the latter of which hasn't trialled. Hey Gringo has a good pitch in red, but wants to run pretty much identically to how he trialled, as Jaytee Tiger will ping out. If Gringo can just pitch in behind, he'll open up down the back, and he's certainly classy. Zodiac hasn't run a poor race yet at Swindon, and should be a contender.
My Pick: 6-1-5
Heat 2
Cracking race this one, and was pretty difficult to fathom out. However I think I've come up with the make-up. Looking at the race, in all honesty, I've discounted the 4 dog. I just don't think he's cut out for this level. Sids Dream, who is taking to the circuit like a duck to water, should be favourite and should justify here. His early pace is phenomenal, and daren't I say English Derby like? He will be made to run, however, as the 5 dog Ministry Missile certainly isn't short of early toe either. The Romford Puppy Derby finalist certainly would prefer a short trip. On the rails, we have Bowtime Joey, who looked superb in a trial on Tuesday, making all off the 1st bend. However, it might not be as easy to lead round with the early in the race. I'd expect him to be running on behind Sids Dream. The battle then for me is between King Jaffa and Swabys Princess. Princess has some pretty good times at Hove, including a recent 29.89 win in front of Ballymac Eugenie (at 14/1 admittedly), but Mr. Jaffa just heads it for me. He's really come on for the McNair camp, and 2 in this race should suit him.
My Pick: 6-1-2
Heat 3
Now this race is a bit tasty, but in this race I think we have the Arc winner.
Longwood Days has done expertly well since returning from a long lay off, and is running the track really well. In this race he gets an absolute solo through the middle. I should think he'll be a backable price aswell, as there is alot of decent competition in the race. The problem then is picking the places. Next in line for me is Droopys Lorenzo. He's only just turned two, but already has some pretty impressive lines of form, mainly at Belle Vue and Romford. The trial last time out was very impressive, most of all the split. He powered out, and doing this sort of run again could see him leading up Rayvin Again on his inside. Maireads Hawk is a very classy greyhound, however he didn't really impress in the OR here a couple of weeks back. Another trial could've been useful. Lenson Mac has had a very perculiar campaign, mainly being involved in sprints. He hasn't really got a great deal of early to accompany the form though. Snowdon Flyer is a very useful dog in red, having regular sub 30.00 runs at Hove
My Pick: 4-1-6 (NAP)
Heat 4
Cracking race this one, with Jazz Apollo getting the nod from me. The Mark Wallis trained dog has some expert times round Sittingbourne and other gallops, and trialled on really well on Tuesday. I particularly liked how he railed the bends, so he'll appreciate the trap 2 draw. Ding Hero on his inside will have to be foot perfect coming out of the boxes to have any sort of run in this race. It's certainly a step up for him, but he's just coming to hand nicely.
There's a very game race going on for the places in this race, with Monaghan Jack being my pick to be in the mix. He has some good lines from Hall Green and trialled very well on Tuesday, posting a great sectional. However, this is a step up in class to what he's used to. There seems to be some draw issues, with Snowdon Tommy arguably needing to be seeded wide in this really. His recent trials indicate he's better out on the hare rail than the running rail, and him veering right out of the boxes could cause problems for both jack and the very fast Guiness Magic, who himself has some good form include a mightly impressive 27.52 at Henlow. Holycross Prince would prefer a longer run, and will be running on at the end.
My Pick: 2-5-1
Heat 5
First thing I have to say in this race is bravo to Paul Sallis with Farloe Titan, who's gunning for his 3rd successive Arc final. The winner from 2010 looks to still have the speed capable of winning a group 1, and again impressed in trials. Arguably he'd prefer the rails though, which houses kennel mate and track record holder Mark My Words. Oddly, he's been seeded rals in this competition. He did win out of the middle in the Produce Stakes and broke the clock on these occasions, so the change of seed is peculiar. He's a class act and should do well in this race.
However, my Next Best lines up in this race in the form of Slick Santiago. I think he get an absolute clear run through the middle in this race, and has the pace to lead up the inside runners. From there, I think its an easy race for him, and he should be a decent price to considering the quality of the field.
As for the wide runners, Destroy the Camp is certainly a class act, however he hasn't had alot of racing recently due to a spell of injury, so he might not be 100% fit going into the race. Guinness Hawk has potential in the stripes, and you should expect to see him running on towards the finish. The same goes for Millroad Scolari. DTC would prefer the 6 box, so he could be veering out towards the hare rail on the run up, but so long as he puts a decent split it he should clear the 5 and 6
My Pick: 3-1-4 (NB)
Heat 6
Brilliant race this, with my pick going to Longwood Fantasy. There isn't alot of early pace in the race, with the best of the rest coming from Droopys Loner in 2, so I can see Fantasy getting a good run into the bend and making all from there. He's a Laurels Finalist, when psoting 2nd behind a certain Eden Star, so he's more than capable. He'll be a big player in this years Arc, along with his kennelmate Days.
Droopys Loner is a bitch in form, having trialled on at Swindon after a cople of good runs at both Yarmouth and Henlow respectively. The trial comments are a bit misleading however, as I felt that Loner checked coming out of the 2nd bend, and when trying to challenge Droopys Lorenzo off the 3rd she checked slightly again, so there's plenty of improvement to come off of that trial.
As for the rest, I don't think that Seek the Cash and Melodys Express are really up to the task here. They have some decent lines, but against this sort of competition its hard to envisage them getting very far. Boherna Bridge has a very good 28.94 time round Nottingham, and has some decent wins round there. However, a lack of a trial is a concern. Trevi You Go seems the best of the trio-links. He's capable of running on well over this 480m trip, and is well drawn as the early pace outside of trap 5.
My Pick: 4-2-6
Heat 7
I wondered where all the local dogs had gone, turns out they're all in this heat! Hernandez, one of the favourites now to win the competition, has finally come good off of his 6 1/2 length romp up last time out, beating a quality field. His pace was there, he just wasn't showing it, but I think the penny has finally dropped! He'll almost certainly be the one to beat in this race, which arguably isn't as classy as the field he beat last time out.
Spinkys Nod in trap 1 has potential to improve on her trial time. She has some very good times at Hove, and has various OR success, including winning the Essex Vase at Romford in 2010 I believe? She also ran in the Oaks last year behind Silverview Perky. She's drawn red, which is where she needs to be. However, she needs to be able to match Glenbane Air for early pace. He's been drawn in two, and I reckon he's better than what his form is suggesting. I'm thinking he'll run a big race here.
For the other places, Ballycowen Dave hasn't really translated his Irish form over here yet, not really taking the eye too much. I expect this is too big a task for him. Ballymac Cryan, in my opinion, seems to have been seeded wrong, I always had him down as a middle to wide runner, thus the rails seeding seems a bit bonkers to me. He'll be moving right on the run up. Mays Gold can run well enough when not getting trouble in running, and the Corrin Price trained greyhound could be the suprise of the pack.
My Pick: 4-2-5
Heat 8
Classy heat again this one, with some competition finalists amongst the group. My pick, goes to Ballymac Eugenie in trap 1. Trained by Kelly Findlay, Eugenie has some good lines of form, and has reached several finals, including winning the bitches festival race at Monmore. The trial on Tuesday was a tad disappointing, however I feel she will come on from that. She has a good amount of early aswell.
Granard Bound in trap 3 is an extremely fast greyhound when he wants to be. Having posted a very good trial time last time out, he's my forecast link in this race. There may not be many wins on his card, but he certainly has potential. Slick Hawk is another who, although not having the greatest looking card in the world, ran a really impressive trial on Tuesday, and will be running on towards the finish.
Again, the battle of the late pace continues with the other runners, with Hugo You Go arguably running his best races over 575 at Romford. He has that kick of early, however, that can see him possibly go round the first in 2nd or 3rd, which would put him in great contention. bit View Micko hasn't put a foot wrong really in any of his races on his card, and ran credibly behind Coom Bullet in a trial stake a week or so ago. I would personally have seeded him wide.
Burwood Freddie is a track specialist, and is not a dog that you should leave out of contention when running around Swindon. He loves the trap 6, and does have the potential to crack out when he wants to. He should get through in this race.
My Pick: 1-3-6
Well there's my look on the races folks. Remember, the first round is on Monday afternoon, with the first of the heats going off at 3:17. If you're popping up, come and say hi!
The best of luck to all the runners in the Ladbrokes Mobile Arc this year. Lets hope that this year is the best Arc year yet!
Chris,
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