The BAGS/SIS Intertrack - Stayers Division

I want to start this blog in a different fashion, and bring it back to the sprinting division that I covered last time.

This week, the track announced a sprinting competition will take place, with a grand prize of £500 to the winner. The aim is to have a 24 greyhound event over three rounds, with the finalist then, in my mind at least, giving the track a good six greyhounds to work with for the Inter track competition. Although I think the initiative is very good, I must say I do think it would have worked better had the total prize fund were split in half, and instead have two different sweepstakes go ahead. One for sprinters, and the other for stayers. If you made them 18 dog events with the first two through, then again you'd have some decent greyhounds to work with for the competition, but you'd be covering two events. Just a thought.

So, the stayers division. It's a funny division to have to fathom out really. When you think of our stayers, you look at the 685m trip and think you need a greyhound that really see's the distance out well. For the case of the two tracks we're visiting, that isn't necessarily the case. Poole's 640m takes a bit of getting, but like the other trips round there, it relies on an awful lot of early pace to kick round in front. The same can most definitely be said for Oxford's 595m trip, which is right on their 3rd bend, meaning you need a dog with early (preferably a railer) that can get in front early on. This, I feel, makes selecting a team a bit tricky.

What worked well last year was going with someone with relative inexperience. If you can recall last year, Silverton Blaze hadn't been over the trip before apart from a trial, yet was something of a revelation when he bagged the home leg in style. I think this year it's going to be more of the same. I feel we have to look at our 4 bend graded strength and see who could possibly stay on for those few more meters.

The actual stayers division itself at the moment isn't really of the class that is required to bag the points in the competition (remember, my opinion, don't flame me for it!). We haven't ran a decent S1 in a while, and most of our 6 bend races are in the S2 grade, and to be honest amongst them aren't really top class runners.

Here are some runners, however, that I've had a thought about:

Gemstone Billy: Kevin Hutton's runner has been over the 6 bend trip recently, and has shown some decent early over that trip. He's been running against rather hard competition, however, and it's yet to be seen whether in top class he'd be a runner. Another issue may be adjusting to the tracks in question, as he seemed to take a while to settle at Swindon

Bramley Rebel: JP's runner here I reckon could be a little firecracker over a short 6 bends. Rebel ran last night in a maiden at Hove, and while it was only his first look, he took to the track really well, running on for a gallant 2nd. He's consistantly running on well over the 480m trip, and I have an inkling he'd stay well over the 595 and 640 trips. It might well be worth a go.

Marilyns Star: Although maybe not on the tip of everyone's tongues, I reckon Chris Stringer's bitch could be our hidden gem. She's not had alot of racing over here, however she's progressive. She had an OR win in Ireland over the 686m trip, so you expect her to stay well. 

Oh Pretty Woman: I have a real soft spot for Ray Evan's bitch. She doesn't see out the 685m at Swindon, however again over a shorter trip I reckon she'd be a real player. What she is, is a real game bitch, who will give her all in a race. She could be a potential point-stealer for us.

Ardmayle Candy: The Stringer camp seem to have a wealth of talent that can run on strong, and Candy seems to fit the 'under the radar' bill well. She's hit a good patch of form recently, putting in some great times over the 480m and running on with it. Again, worth a punt over a short 6?

Call Poacher: Jim Little's runner looks destined to be a big runner over the 6 bend trip, and ran a really good race over the 685m recently, just being beat by Oneco Jewel. Poacher is also pretty young and progressive, so could be a candidate over the trip for Team Swindon.

Ardmayle Move: Another for Team Stringer here. Move ran a very good S2 race last Saturday, posting 41.70 calc. Again, a progressive sort who could come on over 6 for that run.

There are a few thoughts that I've had about the division. If you have any opinions etc, feel free to post a comment on the bottom of this blog.

Next up I'll be looking at the Standard Puppy division, which looks to be one of the hardest to fathom a team from.

Until then, happy punting!

Chris Watts