The final stages of this competition have come round extremely quickly, as we're now down to the final 18 greyhounds.
The highlight of the second round for me was the performance of Brizzle Blue. The way he kicked away off the 3rd bend to win by 6 lengths or so in 28.28 was mindblowing, and a real uplift to have a local dog do so well. I've followed Blue since his first trials at Swindon, and I liked the look of him then. He's matured into a really good dog, so here's hoping he can make the final!
Of course there are two other Swindon greyhounds in the semi finals aswell, with Kevin Hutton fielding Chilli Hot Sauce and Gemstone Jack. Admittedly Jack hasn't been treated very well at all by the draw, as he's in the hardest heat of the lot. Chilli, on the other hand, I think has a squeak in her race.
Here's my preview then of the Semi Finals. Remember, it's the first two through.
20:07: Semi Final 1
My Pick - Wilson
Romeo Gallant - 8/1
Benkaat Blue - 5/2
Westmead Atlas - 7/2
Watch Matt - 14/1
Wilson - 7/4
Chilli Hot Sauce - 10/1
Betting Percentage - 114%
Most definitely the easier of the three heats this one, however it does have its positives and negatives. Wilson, who was really impressive in the opening round, has a much easier task of it in this race compared to the second round, and he should beat these rivals comfortably. Watch Matt in 4 means he should get a clear passage to the bend, and his class should prevail from there.
For the places its going to very much depend on the run to the bend. The way the trap draw has worked out means that Watch Matt, a railer who seems to move off slightly and cut in, could cause some traffic problems for those runners on the inside. Due to this, you have to say that Chilli Hot Sauce could be a big runner on the wide outside. Kevin Hutton's bitch has shown some excellent early speed, and if she can kick on with Wilson and there's some trouble on the inside, then she could qualify here.
I will, however, be siding with Benkaat Blue for the other qualifying place. Although he hasn't really set the track alight, Mark Wallis' Puppy Derby finalist has the class on paper, and if he can reproduce near his best then he can get to the £15,000 final.
My Pick: 5-2-3
20:22: Semi Final 2
My Pick: Teena Marina
Blackband Scamp - 16/1
Bubbly Swallow - 4/1
Romeo You Decide - 1/1
Teena Marina - 5/2
Lowdown - 10/1
Hedsor Arthur - 8/1
Betting Percentage - 124.7%
Competitive race this one, with the race really being between traps 3 and 4. Dave Firmager's Romeo You Decide ran really well to beat Bubbly Swallow last time out, posting a good time aswell. However, the fear for me is that the quick run might catch him out (as it could any runner to be honest), and on the run in, I feel he could be picked up by Teena Marina. I've been really impressed with this bitch, and Andy's Clarke's runner is the one I'd be siding with to win this. 5/2 in the second round was a really good price, and with the runners in this race she should be more of the same.
Bubbly Swallow is obviously a player in any race. Nick Savva's bitch is more prolific over 6 bends, however she has shown to be game over 4 bends. You can expect her to be running on very strong, especially to possibly catch out the ping-gone antics of Romeo You Decide.
My Pick: 4-3-2
20:37: Semi Final 3
My Pick: Brizzle Blue
Peacemaker - 5/1
Johnny Kwango - 6/1
Romeo Recruit - 6/1
Westmead Adonis - 1/1
Gemstone Jack - 33/1
Brizzle Blue - 5/2
Betting Percentage - 126.8%
Now this race was really hard to price up, I don't envy any compiler or bookie in this race, as I just couldn't really get my head around it. It's a cracking race, worthy of being the final in fact. The unfortunate thing is that only two of these go through.
I'm obviously siding with our good local shot Brizzle Blue. Alan McDowell's dog has the perfect trap draw in trap 6, and has that kick of early to live with the likes of Romeo Recruit. The true test will be if there is a battle down the back straight against one of the more seasoned OR campaigners like Westmead Adonis. Obviously against Adonis, it would be tough to match him stride for stride. However, the way the inside trap draw is made up, I can see there being some trouble for the railers in this race.
Unfortunately, I think Gemstone Jack is a bit outclassed in this race, which is a shame really, as in any of the other heats he would've had a cracking chance.
For the other places, obviously Westmead Adonis is going to be a big player in this race. However, the way the trap draw has come out has made things difficult. In my opinion, even though he's drawn as a railer, Peacemaker wants to be moreso in trap 3 rather than on the rails, so he could turn right out of the boxes. Johnny Kwango, for me, ran either very green or didn't really want to go by last week, however he's proven he has the speed when he's on the bunny.
My Pick: 6-4-2
Good luck to all those with semi finalists, and fingers crossed all the greyhounds come home safe and sound. Keep an eye out on the twitter feed, @SwindonRacing, for the trap draw for the final, which I should think will be done on the night,
Happy Punting!
Chris Watts,
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