Now this has been rattling my brain all week. I've been really trying to gather together a good list of pups that could run for us, and I must say the list isn't particularly long.
For this, I've literally looked at what we have available at the moment that is running on the card. I figure that, for the first round, there can be an extra graded run or so. Genuinely, our puppy strength is pretty poor.
It will be a problem, no doubt, for the majority of tracks as there is an obvious decline in the number of new dogs being bought in. Still, it provides a headache for the Team Leader nonetheless.
Just a reminder about the criteria:
> Pups must be December '10 or younger.
> Must be OR maidens.
> Must have 5 graded races.
Downton Flyer - Matt Dartnall
To me, this is the absolute stand out of the pups we have running at Swindon. Flyer has, quite literally, been flying up the grades, and has posted some truly brilliant times to get up to A1 grade. In this last race, however, he hit the rails into the bend, I hope he hasn't come off sore, as this could be a massive blow to our chances.
Shelbourne Louie - Brian King
Brian's runner here Shelbourne Louie looks to also be a handy contender for the division. The good thing about the dog is that he has previously run at Oxford in graded company, reaching A2 there. He's perhaps not a top grade dog, but he fits the bill!
Lady Jayne - Matt Dartnall
Another contender for the Dartnall camp here in Lady Jayne. Hopefully she's hitting her form at the right time, as she ran a super race on Friday night, winner by over 4 lengths.
Sharp Exit - Paul Foster
Admittedly not really suited to Poole or Oxford, Exit has been sprinting in the last couple of weeks to blow some cobwebs off. She'll need one more graded run before she's eligible, which I think should be on the cards to get her eligible, as she's a credible point stealer for us.
Aside from these four, in all honesty, I'm really struggling to think of pups that will be ready for the start of the competition. You do have some, however, that look pretty decent:
Yoga Man - Matt Dartnall
Matt had better get that van serviced, I think he's going to be needed! Yoga Man ran a really good race on debut last week, showing fab early and posting a good time. However, this was his first race. Ideally you would've wanted to see him yesterday to build the card up a bit, because now it's going to be at least a month until he'll be eligible to run.
Lughill Bryan - Hayley Keightly
Bryan is just trialling on at Swindon, and has produced some really decent times for a youngster (can't think of his age off the top of my head). Again, however, it's the time constraint of the comp now, which means he won't be on in time.
If you have any additional thoughts on the pups at hand, do comment on the blog, or tweet, or facebook me, or even through word of mouth, anyway you wish to comment feel free to do so.
I will be covering the Bitches division in the next blog, which I hope to complete in the middle part of next week. This is the division that I feel we are strongest in.
Remember, Tuesday will be the last trial day before the sprint competition that is due to start next Saturday. The blog last week proved to be a lively talking point, with a real 50/50 split on feelings about it. I think there was also some confusion over my wordings on my feelings. My opinion was that a 2 round, £250 to the winner competition for both Sprinters and Stayers was a good idea, not 3 rounds for the same money. Just to clear that up!
Also, a quick well done to Crinkill Jewell and the Hutton Camp on winning the Kent St. Leger at Crayford last Saturday.
Happy Punting!
Chris Watts
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