The OR's on Wednesday night are the last of the £150 jobs, as they were advertised before the change, and were due to support the Monkey 509er (which seems to go through a very weird state of sometimes filling, sometimes not).
2 Opens are gracing the Blunsdon sand tomorrow, with a couple of hounds in there obviously vying a look round in time for the Produce Stakes. It seems a bit mad really that it's come around again so soon, it was the Arc not too long ago, now the Produce!
20:04: The Swindon Standard
My Pick: Champagne Perry
Good little race this one, and to be honest rather difficult to fathom out, as you have all sorts of track form to juggle about. However, I've stuck with Nick Ralph's Champagne Perry. This son of Perrys Tango has adjusted to the track really well after a short stint with Matt Dartnall, and has an impressive CV, with 5 recent wins under Ralph's lead. His early pace is phenomenal, as he seems to kick into the bend better than I've seen most dogs, and can attack the bend at the same pace he goes into it. Being drawn red in a 5 railer race as well is always a bonus. I feel if he can re-create the same sort of run he did in the heat of the Diamond Jubilee Sweepstake, he wins this. The track, which with a bit of sun on its back suits front runners (in my opinion), should be perfect for him aswell.
He will be tracked down in this race though, and he'll have to hold off a late charge from Nick Savva's Westmead Atlas. Savva's charge, who is heading into the Produce Stakes, has some good form around galloping tracks such as Sittingbourne, and seems to leave his running very late. In the future, 6 bends seems to be at his game, however for now he can compete at this level. His best time on the card is the 27.96 at Henlow, which in all honesty would be enough, if replicated to Swindon, to win this. However, the early pace on his inside might catch him out.
Other contenders that are in the race include Hopefully Gold, who is going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment. The Gold that was running around 2 months ago would've trounced this field, but she seems to be a tad off the ball. Dippy Doo, for trainer Terry Kibble, has some credentials, as he won round here in the Easter Bunny Final back in April. Coolruss Tom, I will be honest, I don't know enough about, however he's a progressive Henlow grader, who again is coming for the Produce Stakes. The tri-cast link in my book is Airforce Angel. Angel has some very nifty Irish form, however hasn't really produced anything of note under old trainer Ricky Holloway. New trainer on the block Lynn Short may be able to find a tune with the bitch.
My Pick: 1-2-6
20:36: The Swindon 509'er
My Pick: Fatboyz Pacquiao
I feel that the 509er is alot easier to fathom out than the 480, and certainly I think Pacquiao can step up and win this with relative ease. Lynn Short's new charge (moved from Ricky Holloway) has experience at galloping tracks, and reached this year's Coronation Cup final at Romford. He doesn't have many wins on the card, but he is a class above in this race, and should bag an easy win. I'm expecting him to go into the bend 2nd and take it up from the half way point.
For the forecast linker, it's very difficult to be honest. Forest Bonjo is a standout dog for Paul Foster, however isn't really cutting it too much in his races recently. He has only just turned two, but I always want to see a bit more from him. I remember very well his 2.33 split and romp up's in the A1, however these days he seems more suited to a stayers trip. He may run on to snatch the placing here.
Westmead Aouita will be there or there abouts in this race also. The Nick Savva daughter of Droopys Vieri has been winning for fun over the 550 trip at Henlow, aswell as some great performances at Sittingbourne, most recently a 6 length + 29.04 romp up in an open. She, like her brother Atlas, seems to have a good late charge, but to me Aouita has a kick more early than her bro, so expect her to be there or there abouts in this.
The other contenders include Farloe Orion, who needs to get back to winning ways to contend with these. Bright Ells is new to the OR league, the issue for me is that it is a massive step up for her, and one that I wouldn't take lightly. Saying that, she is more than capable as she's a progressive bitch, and more experience in OR company and she'll pick up opens for fun. Bodell Evan is another grader from Henlow with strong-ish 550 form. However, he'll have to step it up a gear in this race.
My Pick: 6-3-5
19:16, 19:32. 19:48: The BGRF Owner's Bonus Series
My Pick: Fermoy Lets Go
The Owner's Bonus Series (OBS) starts of Wednesday, with 3 heats taking place leading up to the final (I can't think for the life of me what the date of the final is!). My pick for the competition is Fermoy Lets Go. Grant Gillett's bitch has bags of early pace, and is relatively young against the field in its entirety. She can kick to the front against most of the railers in the competition, and is my pick to come up trumps.
I must say that it is good to see the OBS catered for some of the veteran campaigners. The likes of Woodman Hawk and Knockard Hondo are the sorts of dogs, amongst the others, who in their racing every week, and have racked up several wins etc. It's good to see these dogs getting rewarded (and their owners + trainers!), with a chance of earning some really good money in the final (£500 to the winner).
Happy Punting!!
Chris Watts
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