What is the Inter-track?
Here's the first of a series of blogs, where I will be looking at particular contenders for the BAGS/SIS Inter-track competition that's scheduled to take place near the end of the year.
For those that don't know, the Inter-track competition is a 6 group, 3 team contest between the BAGS tracks in the U.K. In this year's competition, we are grouped with Poole and Oxford. The winners of each of the groups will then head to Perry Barr for the grand final on Sunday 23rd December 2012. The total prize pot is pretty significant, adding a few £1000 to the prize funds in January, as well as other winners prizes.
In each leg of the competition, there are 6 races, with each track fielding two runners. The distances are:
> Standard Dogs
> Standard Bitches
> Standard Puppy
> Standard Mixed
> Sprint
> Stayers
Each race has a pretty good winners prize fund, with £200 to the winner, £100 second and £75 others for the races. There is also a traveling allowance allocated for the event.
Greyhounds running in the event must be OR maiden's before the start, and have 5 graded races on their card at their particular track. Alas, at this time of year, I think it's unrealistic to look at dogs just trialling on, as the time frame to get runs in isn't sufficient.
The Opponents
So, on our travels we will be venturing up the A420 to Oxford, and down that bloomin' awful Salisbury route to Poole. Two tracks that are really very similar. Both are near enough the exact opposite of Swindon!
Oxford
I've been Oxford to watch open races quite a lot. I find the track not quite as tight as Poole, however it certainly takes a trial to see the track and the first bend in particular. The traps are flat fronted and work on hydraulics. There's a pretty long run up to the first bend, however once at the bend, its a sharp turn into the second, and you find a lot of dogs who haven't had a look move off either at the first, or cut right in around the first and move off at the second. Heading into the third bend, the thing that differs from some tracks that I've visited, is that there seems to be alot of room to make a move either through the middle or on the rails. Certain tracks, like Nottingham, seem to funnel towards the rail, which makes passing on the bend very difficult.
The standard trip at Oxford is run over 450m, the stayers over 595m and the sprint over 250m.
Early pace seems to be the key for Oxford, however you do see a fair share of dogs coming off the back. I think, ideally, a middle runner with good early would be ideal over the standard distance here, as the railers without a look can tend to move off and cause some bother. Some early pace through the middle means that the greyhound could carry the bend.
For the 595m trip, a QAw railer is a must in my opinion. It's a really short run into the first bend, and more often that not, whatever leads round this bend tends to do best. Obviously, you do need to last home, as the run in can catch some out.
Poole
Similar to Oxford in many ways, however I feel a slightly different approach would be needed. Again, I've been to Poole plenty of times. It's a cracking little track, with a superbly prepared surface. I think that the bends are alot tighter than Oxfords, and the straights are a touch shorter aswell. Poole is most definitely a track where you need early pace to get round the bend in a decent pitch.
My most recent experience of Poole was the opening round of the Golden Crest. As with Oxford, what you found with some of the greyhounds who didn't have a look around was that they were moving off quite badly on the first bend. There isn't a massive amount of camber (angle of the bend) to keep the greyhounds in either. Again, unlike Oxford, I've found that the 3rd bend seems to cause a lot of traffic problems. Poole is generally alot narrower than Oxford in any case, meaning that passing room is at a premium.
One particular positive about the track, in relation to our greyhound's performance there, is that they use the roll-on curve front traps like we do at Swindon. People underestimate how the traps can affect a dog. Hydraulics and roll-ons work in completely different ways, and can throw some dogs. The difference between flat front and curve front also can cause problems.
The standard trip at Poole is run over 450m, and the best policy here is a QAw railer. If you can get round that first bend in a pitch, then you should have a great chance. I'd sooner a railer than a wide runner round there any day.
The stayers trip is over 640m, and is a good run for stayers. Local greyhound Wise Totty has a pretty good track record round there. You need to show a kick of early, but you also need to stay on, as it seems to catch alot of dogs out.
The sprint trip is run over 250m.
There's my thoughts about the tracks we'll be visiting over the course of the competition. One thing I do think we must do as a team this time is make use of the travelling allowance to trial on at the tracks. We had an awful lot of dogs run blind last year, and to me that cost us alot of valuable points. With there not being alot of distance involved this time around, it'd be worth putting some future planning in and getting some trials into our hopefuls.
I'll be starting with the Stayer's division first and foremost, having a look at some of our potential contenders.I'm hoping to have this blog, and the corresponding blogs a couple of days after one another.
I'm really interested to hear your opinions about the subject aswell, including if I miss anyone out, or if you have a feeling about anything to do with the Intertrack. We're in it as a team, and we should be open to discuss it as such! If you wish to pass comments or opinions on, feel free to comment on the bottom of this blog post.
Just a heads up about the future blogs and this one, these are only my opinions, and don't necessarily have any bearing on the team picks etc.
Happy Punting!
Chris Watts
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Saturday, 15 September 2012
Open Race Preview - 15th September 2012
Yes, it's not a mirage. We have five decent quality open races to grace the sand this evening. It's great to see these races, along with a good graded card in my opinion. Here's my preview of the races:
19:57 - The Abbey Meads Sprint
My Pick: Glenbane Air
Decent quality sprint race is this, and realistically I think it's Glenbane Air's to lose. 'Barney' as he's known, trained by Kevin Hutton, has won three sprints on the bounce at both Swindon and Coventry, and has translated superbly to this distance. If he keeps up the way he's going, he can become a top sprinter in, what has to be said, is a very diminished division at the moment. Glenbane shows some great early pace, regularly trapping consistently, even from the dreaded one box in sprints. After this, I think the Sky open race scene must beckon for him. The good thing with having a great quality sprinter is that you can pick up races on Sky with relative ease. The National Sprint at Nottingham must be a target also.
For the places, I'm keeping on the rails, and am expecting Kilmalady Biffo to once again challenge Glenbane for the win, and I think Forest Breeze will be there or there abouts. Kilmalady Biffo has been running very consistently in these sprints, however he's now been beaten twice by Glenbane. I still think he thrives a short four bends. Somewhere like Romford would be brilliant for him at this time in his career. Forest Breeze, trained by Heather Dimmock, looks a pretty decent sort in sprints, however he doesn't look to have the best early pace kick, and in this race it looks to be a case of what leads wins.
My Pick: 2-3-1
20:29 - The Abbey Meads Standard
My Pick: Taranis Rex
For the third consecutive week, I'm bigging up Taranis Rex in this one. However, I do foresee some traffic issues for the former Gymcrack champ. Although I agree that Rexy's best trap is about trap 2-3, He's got, potentially, alot of traffic problems on the rails in the form of Captain Messi and Sharies Miller. Messi can trap, and if he does, it could make things difficult for Rex in terms of getting round the first bend. The same goes for Sharies Miller. Matt Dartnall's bitch, a recent finalist of the Brighton Belle, has some good early pace, and, In my opinion, also has the wrong seed tagged to her. She should really be a middle runner. Alas, now Rex has the issue of getting round Messi at the bend, but also dealing with, potentially, Sharies Miller moving off. Still, if it does all go his way, and even moderately if it doesn't, I think Rex has the class to see these home.
Looking at a couple of the other runners, effectively you can cross the 4 and the 6 off your picks. These greyhounds are trained by the new trainers, Terry Atkins and Ken Mitchell, and by the looks of things this open is an avenue to these two grading on. Hats off to them, its like being paid to trial on!
I think you'd be daft to rule out Ken Humphrey's runner here, Jacobs Courage. He recently ran pretty well in a maiden at Nottingham (and looked punted aswell!) and with the way the draw's made up, and the dogs he has around him, he could nip round here and mount a challenge.
My Pick: 3-5-1
21:01 - The Abbey Meads Maiden 509er
My Pick: Call Poacher
This is a pretty good maiden race this, with a case being made for pretty much all the runners here, however I'm siding with Jim Little's Call Poacher. Poacher ran last week in the same distance trip and ran a very good race in behind Forest Bonjo. I thought he ran on very well, proving that this sort of trip looks his ideal. Over 4 bends, he looks to have a kick of early pace, and if he can translate this into 509, he could win this relatively easy.
There will be some challenges, however, with the early pace on his outside that will be shown from both Inismore Impact and Kays To Blame. I do have my doubts as to whether Inismore Impact will see this trip out all that well, as he looks, again, more of a short four bend dog when he's on the bunny. I think Kays To Blame could be a very interesting forecast link. Alan McDowell's bitch recently ran in a very good A2 race, clocking a particularly fast time. I think this further 4 bends is more up her street.
Another interesting runner is Ray Evan's Oh Pretty Woman. She's been flying home in A2's recently, and trialling on in an impressive time over the 6 bends. This trip will be ideal for her, so expect her to be flying at the finish.
My Pick: 2-5-6
21:17 - The Abbey Meads 509er
My Pick: Matties Mate - NAP
I freely admit to checking the racing post website for this race before I started writing for this race, as looking at the make up I think Mate could be the bet of the night. To my amazement, he's a fairly big price in the paper. Hence, I've made John Peterson's charge my NAP. Mate has hit a really good bit of form recently, competing in top grades here at Swindon, and picking up a brilliant open race win at Coventry last weekend. He broke his maiden duck over this trip, clocking a decent time in the process. The reasoning in this race is that Forest Ted will be moving off slightly into the trap 4 lane position, and I feel that Mate could lead round. I think if he leads, not alot will catch him.
The big danger in this race, rather obviously, is Forest Bonjo. Paul Foster's charge is running out of his skin at the moment, and looks the short price favourite in this race. I should think his main goal for the year is the Winter Stayers event at Monmore, the same form of competition he placed 2nd in a couple of runs back.
My Pick: 2-5-4
21:49 - The Abbey Meads Stayers
My Pick: Lottes Girl - NB
Wahey, a winner for an outsider! In all seriousness, Heather Dimmock's Lottes Girl is a class act. She looks ripe after being off for a little while, with the obvious goal looking to be the TV Trophy at Monmore. She came back flying with a win over 714m at Crayford, showing her trademark early pace and staying on like a steam train. Although this trip is much shorter than what she's used to, I still believe she'll win this comfortably. If she's pitched anywhere between 10 lengths off the first place, keep your eyes open!
For the minor placing's, I'm looking at Kevin Hutton's charges in Five Alley Pub and Penskey Rain. Pub looks to be, potentially, the pace setter in the race, kicking on and leading round, and Penskey looks more the late rallier.
Without sounding disrespectful, to me Scala Cosey, Silverton Blaze and Wise Totty just aren't firing at the moment, and they've been particularly disappointing in their last few races. I hope they can turn the form around, however with class above them in these races, I can't see it happening here.
My Pick: 2-1-5
In the next couple of weeks, I'm looking to write up blogs about our potential hopefuls for the upcoming BAGS intertrack that will be taking place nearer the end of the year. For those that don't know, we will be competing in a group with Oxford and Poole, with the winner of the group heading to Perry Barr on the Sunday before Christmas. As with last year, there are races for:
> Standard Dogs
> Standard Bitches
> Standard Mixed
> Standard Puppy
> Sprint
> Stayers
I'm hoping to do a blog on each distance to see what dogs we have that could, potentially, run in the competition. Any thoughts and views you have would be greatly appreciated. You can post on the bottom of this blog post if you wish, or talk to me at the track.
Happy Punting!
Chris Watts
19:57 - The Abbey Meads Sprint
My Pick: Glenbane Air
Decent quality sprint race is this, and realistically I think it's Glenbane Air's to lose. 'Barney' as he's known, trained by Kevin Hutton, has won three sprints on the bounce at both Swindon and Coventry, and has translated superbly to this distance. If he keeps up the way he's going, he can become a top sprinter in, what has to be said, is a very diminished division at the moment. Glenbane shows some great early pace, regularly trapping consistently, even from the dreaded one box in sprints. After this, I think the Sky open race scene must beckon for him. The good thing with having a great quality sprinter is that you can pick up races on Sky with relative ease. The National Sprint at Nottingham must be a target also.
For the places, I'm keeping on the rails, and am expecting Kilmalady Biffo to once again challenge Glenbane for the win, and I think Forest Breeze will be there or there abouts. Kilmalady Biffo has been running very consistently in these sprints, however he's now been beaten twice by Glenbane. I still think he thrives a short four bends. Somewhere like Romford would be brilliant for him at this time in his career. Forest Breeze, trained by Heather Dimmock, looks a pretty decent sort in sprints, however he doesn't look to have the best early pace kick, and in this race it looks to be a case of what leads wins.
My Pick: 2-3-1
20:29 - The Abbey Meads Standard
My Pick: Taranis Rex
For the third consecutive week, I'm bigging up Taranis Rex in this one. However, I do foresee some traffic issues for the former Gymcrack champ. Although I agree that Rexy's best trap is about trap 2-3, He's got, potentially, alot of traffic problems on the rails in the form of Captain Messi and Sharies Miller. Messi can trap, and if he does, it could make things difficult for Rex in terms of getting round the first bend. The same goes for Sharies Miller. Matt Dartnall's bitch, a recent finalist of the Brighton Belle, has some good early pace, and, In my opinion, also has the wrong seed tagged to her. She should really be a middle runner. Alas, now Rex has the issue of getting round Messi at the bend, but also dealing with, potentially, Sharies Miller moving off. Still, if it does all go his way, and even moderately if it doesn't, I think Rex has the class to see these home.
Looking at a couple of the other runners, effectively you can cross the 4 and the 6 off your picks. These greyhounds are trained by the new trainers, Terry Atkins and Ken Mitchell, and by the looks of things this open is an avenue to these two grading on. Hats off to them, its like being paid to trial on!
I think you'd be daft to rule out Ken Humphrey's runner here, Jacobs Courage. He recently ran pretty well in a maiden at Nottingham (and looked punted aswell!) and with the way the draw's made up, and the dogs he has around him, he could nip round here and mount a challenge.
My Pick: 3-5-1
21:01 - The Abbey Meads Maiden 509er
My Pick: Call Poacher
This is a pretty good maiden race this, with a case being made for pretty much all the runners here, however I'm siding with Jim Little's Call Poacher. Poacher ran last week in the same distance trip and ran a very good race in behind Forest Bonjo. I thought he ran on very well, proving that this sort of trip looks his ideal. Over 4 bends, he looks to have a kick of early pace, and if he can translate this into 509, he could win this relatively easy.
There will be some challenges, however, with the early pace on his outside that will be shown from both Inismore Impact and Kays To Blame. I do have my doubts as to whether Inismore Impact will see this trip out all that well, as he looks, again, more of a short four bend dog when he's on the bunny. I think Kays To Blame could be a very interesting forecast link. Alan McDowell's bitch recently ran in a very good A2 race, clocking a particularly fast time. I think this further 4 bends is more up her street.
Another interesting runner is Ray Evan's Oh Pretty Woman. She's been flying home in A2's recently, and trialling on in an impressive time over the 6 bends. This trip will be ideal for her, so expect her to be flying at the finish.
My Pick: 2-5-6
21:17 - The Abbey Meads 509er
My Pick: Matties Mate - NAP
I freely admit to checking the racing post website for this race before I started writing for this race, as looking at the make up I think Mate could be the bet of the night. To my amazement, he's a fairly big price in the paper. Hence, I've made John Peterson's charge my NAP. Mate has hit a really good bit of form recently, competing in top grades here at Swindon, and picking up a brilliant open race win at Coventry last weekend. He broke his maiden duck over this trip, clocking a decent time in the process. The reasoning in this race is that Forest Ted will be moving off slightly into the trap 4 lane position, and I feel that Mate could lead round. I think if he leads, not alot will catch him.
The big danger in this race, rather obviously, is Forest Bonjo. Paul Foster's charge is running out of his skin at the moment, and looks the short price favourite in this race. I should think his main goal for the year is the Winter Stayers event at Monmore, the same form of competition he placed 2nd in a couple of runs back.
My Pick: 2-5-4
21:49 - The Abbey Meads Stayers
My Pick: Lottes Girl - NB
Wahey, a winner for an outsider! In all seriousness, Heather Dimmock's Lottes Girl is a class act. She looks ripe after being off for a little while, with the obvious goal looking to be the TV Trophy at Monmore. She came back flying with a win over 714m at Crayford, showing her trademark early pace and staying on like a steam train. Although this trip is much shorter than what she's used to, I still believe she'll win this comfortably. If she's pitched anywhere between 10 lengths off the first place, keep your eyes open!
For the minor placing's, I'm looking at Kevin Hutton's charges in Five Alley Pub and Penskey Rain. Pub looks to be, potentially, the pace setter in the race, kicking on and leading round, and Penskey looks more the late rallier.
Without sounding disrespectful, to me Scala Cosey, Silverton Blaze and Wise Totty just aren't firing at the moment, and they've been particularly disappointing in their last few races. I hope they can turn the form around, however with class above them in these races, I can't see it happening here.
My Pick: 2-1-5
In the next couple of weeks, I'm looking to write up blogs about our potential hopefuls for the upcoming BAGS intertrack that will be taking place nearer the end of the year. For those that don't know, we will be competing in a group with Oxford and Poole, with the winner of the group heading to Perry Barr on the Sunday before Christmas. As with last year, there are races for:
> Standard Dogs
> Standard Bitches
> Standard Mixed
> Standard Puppy
> Sprint
> Stayers
I'm hoping to do a blog on each distance to see what dogs we have that could, potentially, run in the competition. Any thoughts and views you have would be greatly appreciated. You can post on the bottom of this blog post if you wish, or talk to me at the track.
Happy Punting!
Chris Watts
Sunday, 9 September 2012
New Trainers, The Open Race Situation
Evening all!
I thought I'd use this blog first and foremost to say a hello to the spate of new trainers that have joined us recently.
First in the door is Ken Mitchell from Poole. Ken is based near Reading and used to train there before it's closure. He's been fielding dogs for Poole and Harlow since then. He has some useful dogs indeed, most certainly a litter out of Ballymac Class which look pretty decent.
Brian King is another to take to the Blunsdon sand. King used to run the Shelbourne Stud and has come over after a good career over in Ireland. He doesn't have a large strength, however he has some quality Shelbourne dogs which will no doubt enter the top grades.
Hayley Keightley joins us after being unattached. Mostly known for fielding open racers, including the legendary Roxholme Girl, Keightley has some pups that will be coming through the ranks.
Last, but certainly not least, is Terry Atkins, who joins us from Oxford. Terry's a great character, who used to train at Reading. He has a good kennel strength of dogs, and is a great addition to the Swindon team.
Welcome to all the newbies, and I hope you all have a great time at Swindon!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that those formalities are out of the way, I wanted to open discussion on the state of the Open Racing game in the greyhound world at the moment. It's plain to see, if you've taken notice of the open race entries around the country, and the quality of the open races being fielded at the moment is pretty dire. We had two open races this past Saturday, and realistically they were pretty awful in terms of quality. When you think of an Open Race, I automatically cast my mind to seeing 6 quality greyhounds genuinely competing to see who's the best. However, what we seem to have at the moment are cards that are being filled basically by graders over open racers. So what's the solution?
Upping the prize money for tracks doesn't really seem to be working. To me, tracks are going to have to compete with one another to fill these races. I think for a track to succeed, they need to establish 'a night'. For example, when you're looking through your calendar, you know full well that you can have a full card at Coventry on a Sunday, Nottingham on a Monday, Romford on a Friday, a mix of Hove/Henlow on Thursday. Swindon's pitch of Saturday night to me would work less well than a Wednesday. On a Saturday, you find that most tracks run a graded card, alas you have to rely on the trainers that wish to attend 2 or more tracks to enter your opens. I, personally, feel Wednesday nights are the best nights for opens.
Another thing to establish is a good mix of races. As much as I am not a fan of filling a card with maidens (I very rarely record Romford on a Friday for this reason), you have to put a mix of maiden six bends, sprints etc, along with good standard trips etc. Also, puppy races seem rather popular. I've looked into veteran races, but they don't seem to attract a decent enough entry (I can only remember one at Sittingbourne a little while back), though I am all for veteran derbies for the graders that have done such hard work for their trainers (more on that later).
Next thing, which might prove horrifically controversial, is to offer something, and this can be anything, that is completely different from the others. Sittingbourne introduced a form of lottery with a £1,000 prize for a trainer. Those sort of initiatives will get entries in the book. My idea would be, obviously dependant on bookings etc, is for OR entries, is to offer a table in the restaurant, or a form of buffet for those entered. One thing that seems to be a real stickler for travelling support is the quality of the grub on offer. Why not have a decent spread in the paddock bar or something for those that have travelled 2/3 hours to get to the track so that they can have a decent meal. It's amazing how word of mouth can spread the word in greyhound racing, and this sort of thing, where you look after the travelling trainers, could do wonders not just for the morale of those in attendance, but also with the hope of repeated future entries from said trainers.
Again, like most things in greyhound racing, I think it's really minor tweaks that are needed just to up the quality of the product a bit. Other things that you could look at include the quality of the trophies, having a decent presentation area, presentation jackets etc. You could literally look at every detail and fine tune it in my opinion. The best thing is that you know when you have a winning formula, because the entries will then be stacked.
Now I'm not blind, there is quite obviously a pretty serious greyhound shortage at the moment. It's not just here, so I'm told, Ireland is also suffering pretty badly. As much as it must be a headache for tracks, racing managers, and everybody involved, surely now is as good a time as ever to step back and take a look at what you're offering in terms of a product and see what you can do to make it better?
As I alluded to earlier, as much as I am a fan of the open racing, I also completely understand the plight of the 'bread and butter' greyhounds. Obviously the graded races, with the BAGS situation etc, is vitally important. Prize money always seems to be a bug bearer, and I can see both sides of it. Obviously an increase in prize money is very much sought after from trainers and owners. However, the other side of the coin is that to even put a £1 on all levels, you're looking at an extra £20,000 odd quid on the prize money bill at the end of year. The essential problem is that any prize level increase would have to be significant to assist trainers and owners, alas the total added cost over a year could be alot more.
I am all for, as I have posted on previous blog postings, are alot more trophy meetings and specialist nights. I think the Owners and Trainers evening that we run usually around Christmas is great, but I do think the same thing could be done once a month. I don't think that taking one evening a month would hurt. We could have a full trophy card, special offers for owners and trainers for the restaurant etc. I think it would be a really good morale boost, and a meeting that people could look forward to.
Another thing that I reckon would be cool for the local greyhounds are some local kennel sweepstakes. Yes we have the Owner's Bonus Series and the BAGS/SIS 500, but why not do some extras? As I said earlier, why not have a veteran's derby for the old charge that have been running for a while, so that their owners and trainers can win a decent bit of money and win a nice trophy for the greyhound? Also, as I've seen Monmore and Crayford do, why not have trophy races for greyhounds that win a series of races?
These are just merely ideas how, again, with just minor tweaks, the morale could be increased amongst owners and trainers. Winning trophies and just being made a fuss of even for 5 minutes is a massive bonus for everyone involved in the greyhound. It's something that greyhound racing as a whole has to do. We have to look after the product first and foremost.
Apologise that this has been a rather long post. I think I might have got a bit carried away! If you have any views, agreements/disagreements feel free to comment. I just hope I've got the mind thinking as to what sort of things could be done relatively easily.
Anyway, happy punting!
Chris Watts
I thought I'd use this blog first and foremost to say a hello to the spate of new trainers that have joined us recently.
First in the door is Ken Mitchell from Poole. Ken is based near Reading and used to train there before it's closure. He's been fielding dogs for Poole and Harlow since then. He has some useful dogs indeed, most certainly a litter out of Ballymac Class which look pretty decent.
Brian King is another to take to the Blunsdon sand. King used to run the Shelbourne Stud and has come over after a good career over in Ireland. He doesn't have a large strength, however he has some quality Shelbourne dogs which will no doubt enter the top grades.
Hayley Keightley joins us after being unattached. Mostly known for fielding open racers, including the legendary Roxholme Girl, Keightley has some pups that will be coming through the ranks.
Last, but certainly not least, is Terry Atkins, who joins us from Oxford. Terry's a great character, who used to train at Reading. He has a good kennel strength of dogs, and is a great addition to the Swindon team.
Welcome to all the newbies, and I hope you all have a great time at Swindon!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that those formalities are out of the way, I wanted to open discussion on the state of the Open Racing game in the greyhound world at the moment. It's plain to see, if you've taken notice of the open race entries around the country, and the quality of the open races being fielded at the moment is pretty dire. We had two open races this past Saturday, and realistically they were pretty awful in terms of quality. When you think of an Open Race, I automatically cast my mind to seeing 6 quality greyhounds genuinely competing to see who's the best. However, what we seem to have at the moment are cards that are being filled basically by graders over open racers. So what's the solution?
Upping the prize money for tracks doesn't really seem to be working. To me, tracks are going to have to compete with one another to fill these races. I think for a track to succeed, they need to establish 'a night'. For example, when you're looking through your calendar, you know full well that you can have a full card at Coventry on a Sunday, Nottingham on a Monday, Romford on a Friday, a mix of Hove/Henlow on Thursday. Swindon's pitch of Saturday night to me would work less well than a Wednesday. On a Saturday, you find that most tracks run a graded card, alas you have to rely on the trainers that wish to attend 2 or more tracks to enter your opens. I, personally, feel Wednesday nights are the best nights for opens.
Another thing to establish is a good mix of races. As much as I am not a fan of filling a card with maidens (I very rarely record Romford on a Friday for this reason), you have to put a mix of maiden six bends, sprints etc, along with good standard trips etc. Also, puppy races seem rather popular. I've looked into veteran races, but they don't seem to attract a decent enough entry (I can only remember one at Sittingbourne a little while back), though I am all for veteran derbies for the graders that have done such hard work for their trainers (more on that later).
Next thing, which might prove horrifically controversial, is to offer something, and this can be anything, that is completely different from the others. Sittingbourne introduced a form of lottery with a £1,000 prize for a trainer. Those sort of initiatives will get entries in the book. My idea would be, obviously dependant on bookings etc, is for OR entries, is to offer a table in the restaurant, or a form of buffet for those entered. One thing that seems to be a real stickler for travelling support is the quality of the grub on offer. Why not have a decent spread in the paddock bar or something for those that have travelled 2/3 hours to get to the track so that they can have a decent meal. It's amazing how word of mouth can spread the word in greyhound racing, and this sort of thing, where you look after the travelling trainers, could do wonders not just for the morale of those in attendance, but also with the hope of repeated future entries from said trainers.
Again, like most things in greyhound racing, I think it's really minor tweaks that are needed just to up the quality of the product a bit. Other things that you could look at include the quality of the trophies, having a decent presentation area, presentation jackets etc. You could literally look at every detail and fine tune it in my opinion. The best thing is that you know when you have a winning formula, because the entries will then be stacked.
Now I'm not blind, there is quite obviously a pretty serious greyhound shortage at the moment. It's not just here, so I'm told, Ireland is also suffering pretty badly. As much as it must be a headache for tracks, racing managers, and everybody involved, surely now is as good a time as ever to step back and take a look at what you're offering in terms of a product and see what you can do to make it better?
As I alluded to earlier, as much as I am a fan of the open racing, I also completely understand the plight of the 'bread and butter' greyhounds. Obviously the graded races, with the BAGS situation etc, is vitally important. Prize money always seems to be a bug bearer, and I can see both sides of it. Obviously an increase in prize money is very much sought after from trainers and owners. However, the other side of the coin is that to even put a £1 on all levels, you're looking at an extra £20,000 odd quid on the prize money bill at the end of year. The essential problem is that any prize level increase would have to be significant to assist trainers and owners, alas the total added cost over a year could be alot more.
I am all for, as I have posted on previous blog postings, are alot more trophy meetings and specialist nights. I think the Owners and Trainers evening that we run usually around Christmas is great, but I do think the same thing could be done once a month. I don't think that taking one evening a month would hurt. We could have a full trophy card, special offers for owners and trainers for the restaurant etc. I think it would be a really good morale boost, and a meeting that people could look forward to.
Another thing that I reckon would be cool for the local greyhounds are some local kennel sweepstakes. Yes we have the Owner's Bonus Series and the BAGS/SIS 500, but why not do some extras? As I said earlier, why not have a veteran's derby for the old charge that have been running for a while, so that their owners and trainers can win a decent bit of money and win a nice trophy for the greyhound? Also, as I've seen Monmore and Crayford do, why not have trophy races for greyhounds that win a series of races?
These are just merely ideas how, again, with just minor tweaks, the morale could be increased amongst owners and trainers. Winning trophies and just being made a fuss of even for 5 minutes is a massive bonus for everyone involved in the greyhound. It's something that greyhound racing as a whole has to do. We have to look after the product first and foremost.
Apologise that this has been a rather long post. I think I might have got a bit carried away! If you have any views, agreements/disagreements feel free to comment. I just hope I've got the mind thinking as to what sort of things could be done relatively easily.
Anyway, happy punting!
Chris Watts
Friday, 7 September 2012
Open Races - Saturday 8th September 2012
After the disaster that was last week's tipping, I've actually taken a bit of time to look over the opens this week. Fingers crossed I've found you a couple of winners!
20:45 - The Stadiauk.com Standard
My Pick (Again): Taranis Rex
I'm siding with class once again in this race, in the form of Kevin Hutton's Taranis Rex. Arguably this week's standard race is very much weaker than last weeks, alas I think Rex has the class above to lead these home. In his last race, he showed none of his trademark trapping and early pace, as well as getting squeezed on the run up. For sentimental reasons aswell I hope he wins!
Places then, and I'm going to side with the newbie to Swindon, Brian King's Shelbourne Sally. Sally's been trialling rather well recently, and will be top grade here eventually (this last OR will class as a final 'grading on' trial for her. To be brutally honest, this race and the other open are pretty poor in quality, alas expect some of the lesser fancied dogs to run a big race.
As for the others, and your eye will always glance to Matty Dartnall's Farloe Skywalker. Skywalker is a veteran now, and realistically his better racing days are behind him, however you can expect a big run from him on the outside.
My Trio: 2-4-6
21:36 - The Book The Paddock Bar 509er
My Pick: Forest Bonjo
Easy race this one, again a race severely lacking in quality. You can land a quick fire double here (albeit at a short price) by backing Paul Foster's Forest Bonjo. Bonjo, a recent runner up of Summer Stayers Final at Monmore, is a class above here, and should romp up comfortably here. Not alot more to say really!
For the places, I'm siding with Droopys Harper. Kevin Hutton's charge has been down to Hove for a 515 maiden recently, so this 509 trip should be up his street.mexpect a strng finish from this one. Peter Swadden's Wise Totty should be there or there abouts also.
My Pick: 5-4-3
I'm very sorry that the previews are so brief, its just that the quality is quite distinctly lacking. The sheer amount of opens about at the moment is just mad. Hopefully on Sunday I'll be blogging about my thoughts on the OR scene as a whole, and how things can be improved.
Happy Punting!
20:45 - The Stadiauk.com Standard
My Pick (Again): Taranis Rex
I'm siding with class once again in this race, in the form of Kevin Hutton's Taranis Rex. Arguably this week's standard race is very much weaker than last weeks, alas I think Rex has the class above to lead these home. In his last race, he showed none of his trademark trapping and early pace, as well as getting squeezed on the run up. For sentimental reasons aswell I hope he wins!
Places then, and I'm going to side with the newbie to Swindon, Brian King's Shelbourne Sally. Sally's been trialling rather well recently, and will be top grade here eventually (this last OR will class as a final 'grading on' trial for her. To be brutally honest, this race and the other open are pretty poor in quality, alas expect some of the lesser fancied dogs to run a big race.
As for the others, and your eye will always glance to Matty Dartnall's Farloe Skywalker. Skywalker is a veteran now, and realistically his better racing days are behind him, however you can expect a big run from him on the outside.
My Trio: 2-4-6
21:36 - The Book The Paddock Bar 509er
My Pick: Forest Bonjo
Easy race this one, again a race severely lacking in quality. You can land a quick fire double here (albeit at a short price) by backing Paul Foster's Forest Bonjo. Bonjo, a recent runner up of Summer Stayers Final at Monmore, is a class above here, and should romp up comfortably here. Not alot more to say really!
For the places, I'm siding with Droopys Harper. Kevin Hutton's charge has been down to Hove for a 515 maiden recently, so this 509 trip should be up his street.mexpect a strng finish from this one. Peter Swadden's Wise Totty should be there or there abouts also.
My Pick: 5-4-3
I'm very sorry that the previews are so brief, its just that the quality is quite distinctly lacking. The sheer amount of opens about at the moment is just mad. Hopefully on Sunday I'll be blogging about my thoughts on the OR scene as a whole, and how things can be improved.
Happy Punting!
Saturday, 1 September 2012
OR Preview - 1st September
Good afternoon folks, and welcome to another edition of my ramblings!
I thought I'd take you through tonight's open races.
And just a heads up, I haven't looked at the RP picks to anything before hand, this is all solely my opinion!
20:11 - The September Sprint Stakes
My Pick: Shreyas Trojan
I must say that, as a punter, I tend to swerve sprints really. Realistically, anything can happen, and your pick only has to fluff his lines to cost them the race. I don't know many that play sprints to be honest!
Shreyas Trojan, trained by Graham Holford at Coventry, has been only sprinting recently at his local track, however in his last couple of runs he's dipped under the 16 second mark for their sprint trip, which is a good indication of a very good time. In his last run, he recorded 15.89, winning by 3 lengths. It all depends really on whether he takes to the Swindon circuit and the differences with the traps. I think he could be a fair value bet, with a couple of the other dogs that are in the race. Expect around 5/2.
The two Hutton dogs, Glenbane Air and Kilmalady Biffo, are interesting runners here, and both have chances. Air, who recently posted a sprint win at Coventry, to me never really looked to be a true four bend performer against opposition, and I think the transition to sprinting is a very good idea. I do think he can become a top sprinter. The reason I've swerved him here is, if you've read any of the other blogs, is the draw. I don't like the red box for sprinters, and though he is a bang railer, I reckon he'd trap better from 2.
Biffo is an experienced campaigner now, and has recently also won a sprint open, and has form over the short 4 bends. In the opposite to what I think about Glenbane, I think this dog is at his best in the short 4 bend races. He's a dog that for me takes a couple of looks at a track, however once he's settled his early pace is phenomenal.
As for the other runners, Tseal in trap 2, though a graded favourite of mine, isn't up to this class. Although the trial times are very good, there is a massive scope of difference between trials and open racing. The last couple of four bend trials at Coventry aren't very promising either. Bealady Rover, once a regular winner of A1's and sprint opens, has gone really off the boil recently and is swerved here. Aegean Bullet looks outclassed here.
My Trio: 4-1-3
21:02 - The September Standard Stakes
My Pick: Taranis Rex
We've got ourselves a 480m open next, with all local dogs in the mix! My pick here is rather the standout pick of the race, and that is the former Gymcrack champion Taranis Rex.
Rexy, once trained by Nick Colton and now in the hands of the Hutton camp, has recently had his first race back from a near year lay off after a horrible Achilles injury. I praise the patience of owner Roly Woodcock and everyone involved with this dog to take as much time as was possible to get him back.
His trials round Swindon have been great, regularly posting 28.60's, and showing the trademark early pace that made him such a force in the Betfred Gymcrack at Kinsley last year. He is, without doubt, an incredibly fast dog. I must admit that I do question the decision to run him at Coventry. Obviously he would've needed the run etc, however I always had Rex down as a short four bend runner (Honestly, I think even Swindon is a serious test for him). Coventry's standard trip is the toughest standard trip in the country to get in my opinion, and realistically he didn't look to get it very well. Still, this is the 'homecoming' race for him. He should clear the one dog easily, and with River Dubh keeping directly middle, he should get a clear passage up the rail.
For the forecast linker, I'm sticking with a favourite of mine, Ardmayle Mohammed. Chris Stringer's charge showed some cracking early pace in his last run (for a dog that I considered a stayer, I was rather gobsmacked) and recorded a brilliant 28.75, beating a good A1 field. With Hey Diego on his inside having the better early, he should get a clear pitch on the wide outside, and could mow down the early pace through the middle (I'm envisaging some trouble through the middle, with Kays To Blame and River Dubh having such good early)
My Pick: 2-6-3
21:36 - The September Stayers Stakes
My Pick: Forest Bonjo
This is a cracking little race, and I'm siding with the Ladbrokes Festival Stayers runner up Forest Bonjo. Bonjo, trained by Paul Foster, recently ran a couple of brilliant races at Monmore, against come very good competition. He stayed on very strong over the 630m trip and, even though I didn't think he'd stay the 685m trip here very well, I think this is ideal (and maximum) distance. To be fair, he beat most of these in the last 685m open race he won here.
Penskey Rain is the one to watch coming home. The St. Leger Finalist recently went over the marathon trip at Coventry, which he seemed to see out very well. He's rather one paced all the way round, and the translation to Marathon's, in my opinion, is a good move. I'd have him at Monmore for a couple of looks before the TV Trophy. He'll be flying home over this trip, and he loved the Swindon circuit.
Wise Totty is a Swindon favourite, however again she seems to have very much gone off the boil. Her last OR win was in a marathon down at Poole against some rather mediocre opposition, She needs to find a bit of form really to make a big impact. However, she does always run her heart out and, again, loves the circuit.
As for the other runners, Twisted Soul is an interesting runner for Laurence Wynn. I tipped him up last time at Swindon off of his good Coventry form, however again he seems to have gone off the boil. Scala Cosey is another runner that has some OR wins elsewhere at Oxford. My problem with her is that I thought she ran a very flat trial on Tuesday, and the quick run, I don't think, will do her alot of good. She can become purely Open class, if only she would go to another track other than Oxford for her races. Silverton Blaze is the second Maurice Walsh runner, who, to be honest, never runs a race the same. He could romp up at 10/1, who knows. He'll be running on at the finish.
My Pick: 5-4-2
Happy Punting Folks!
Chris,
I thought I'd take you through tonight's open races.
And just a heads up, I haven't looked at the RP picks to anything before hand, this is all solely my opinion!
20:11 - The September Sprint Stakes
My Pick: Shreyas Trojan
I must say that, as a punter, I tend to swerve sprints really. Realistically, anything can happen, and your pick only has to fluff his lines to cost them the race. I don't know many that play sprints to be honest!
Shreyas Trojan, trained by Graham Holford at Coventry, has been only sprinting recently at his local track, however in his last couple of runs he's dipped under the 16 second mark for their sprint trip, which is a good indication of a very good time. In his last run, he recorded 15.89, winning by 3 lengths. It all depends really on whether he takes to the Swindon circuit and the differences with the traps. I think he could be a fair value bet, with a couple of the other dogs that are in the race. Expect around 5/2.
The two Hutton dogs, Glenbane Air and Kilmalady Biffo, are interesting runners here, and both have chances. Air, who recently posted a sprint win at Coventry, to me never really looked to be a true four bend performer against opposition, and I think the transition to sprinting is a very good idea. I do think he can become a top sprinter. The reason I've swerved him here is, if you've read any of the other blogs, is the draw. I don't like the red box for sprinters, and though he is a bang railer, I reckon he'd trap better from 2.
Biffo is an experienced campaigner now, and has recently also won a sprint open, and has form over the short 4 bends. In the opposite to what I think about Glenbane, I think this dog is at his best in the short 4 bend races. He's a dog that for me takes a couple of looks at a track, however once he's settled his early pace is phenomenal.
As for the other runners, Tseal in trap 2, though a graded favourite of mine, isn't up to this class. Although the trial times are very good, there is a massive scope of difference between trials and open racing. The last couple of four bend trials at Coventry aren't very promising either. Bealady Rover, once a regular winner of A1's and sprint opens, has gone really off the boil recently and is swerved here. Aegean Bullet looks outclassed here.
My Trio: 4-1-3
21:02 - The September Standard Stakes
My Pick: Taranis Rex
We've got ourselves a 480m open next, with all local dogs in the mix! My pick here is rather the standout pick of the race, and that is the former Gymcrack champion Taranis Rex.
Rexy, once trained by Nick Colton and now in the hands of the Hutton camp, has recently had his first race back from a near year lay off after a horrible Achilles injury. I praise the patience of owner Roly Woodcock and everyone involved with this dog to take as much time as was possible to get him back.
His trials round Swindon have been great, regularly posting 28.60's, and showing the trademark early pace that made him such a force in the Betfred Gymcrack at Kinsley last year. He is, without doubt, an incredibly fast dog. I must admit that I do question the decision to run him at Coventry. Obviously he would've needed the run etc, however I always had Rex down as a short four bend runner (Honestly, I think even Swindon is a serious test for him). Coventry's standard trip is the toughest standard trip in the country to get in my opinion, and realistically he didn't look to get it very well. Still, this is the 'homecoming' race for him. He should clear the one dog easily, and with River Dubh keeping directly middle, he should get a clear passage up the rail.
For the forecast linker, I'm sticking with a favourite of mine, Ardmayle Mohammed. Chris Stringer's charge showed some cracking early pace in his last run (for a dog that I considered a stayer, I was rather gobsmacked) and recorded a brilliant 28.75, beating a good A1 field. With Hey Diego on his inside having the better early, he should get a clear pitch on the wide outside, and could mow down the early pace through the middle (I'm envisaging some trouble through the middle, with Kays To Blame and River Dubh having such good early)
My Pick: 2-6-3
21:36 - The September Stayers Stakes
My Pick: Forest Bonjo
This is a cracking little race, and I'm siding with the Ladbrokes Festival Stayers runner up Forest Bonjo. Bonjo, trained by Paul Foster, recently ran a couple of brilliant races at Monmore, against come very good competition. He stayed on very strong over the 630m trip and, even though I didn't think he'd stay the 685m trip here very well, I think this is ideal (and maximum) distance. To be fair, he beat most of these in the last 685m open race he won here.
Penskey Rain is the one to watch coming home. The St. Leger Finalist recently went over the marathon trip at Coventry, which he seemed to see out very well. He's rather one paced all the way round, and the translation to Marathon's, in my opinion, is a good move. I'd have him at Monmore for a couple of looks before the TV Trophy. He'll be flying home over this trip, and he loved the Swindon circuit.
Wise Totty is a Swindon favourite, however again she seems to have very much gone off the boil. Her last OR win was in a marathon down at Poole against some rather mediocre opposition, She needs to find a bit of form really to make a big impact. However, she does always run her heart out and, again, loves the circuit.
As for the other runners, Twisted Soul is an interesting runner for Laurence Wynn. I tipped him up last time at Swindon off of his good Coventry form, however again he seems to have gone off the boil. Scala Cosey is another runner that has some OR wins elsewhere at Oxford. My problem with her is that I thought she ran a very flat trial on Tuesday, and the quick run, I don't think, will do her alot of good. She can become purely Open class, if only she would go to another track other than Oxford for her races. Silverton Blaze is the second Maurice Walsh runner, who, to be honest, never runs a race the same. He could romp up at 10/1, who knows. He'll be running on at the finish.
My Pick: 5-4-2
Happy Punting Folks!
Chris,
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