Over the weekend, Monmore saw the start of the Eggstravaganza trials, with Kevin Hutton giving his four a spin round the circuit. Out of his recruits, Alarming Jacks went best, posting a 28.63 calculated for the 480m trip.
The notable point to come out of the trial sessions is that the quality of the competition looks to be pretty poor. Bar an exceptional few (Jacks being one of them), there aren't the flashing times being posted that usually graces competitions like this. When you look at the Intertrack at Perry Barr, you had some cracking dogs going for that competition, with the likes of Bold Three now being an active competitor on the OR circuit. It seems that the competition just hasn't got that sparkle that the IT has. Fingers crossed that, on the day, the racing is top draw and makes for good viewing (16 races and all!)
Well, it's snowing and bitterly cold outside, so that means that it must be Arc time! Even with a different start date, we still manage to get some bitterly cold weather. Hopefully by the time the competition gets started we'll have some decent weather! The preparations kick off at trials on Tuesday, where Colin Callow gives his 'Longwood' team a spin round, with the obvious target being The Pinpoint Recruitment Arc. I've heard several good things about a new recruit in Longwood Bound. I saw him trial at Coventry in a sprint, where he went about a spot off that track record, so this newbie obviously has pace. It'll be interesting to see how he, and old timers Warrior and Fantasy, handle the Blunsdon Circuit.
On the subject of incorporating more competitions for graders, which seems to have people really talking about possibilities, I thought of one way to do this would be to re-format the Owners Bonus Series. It could be done in such a way that the competition actually has 3 rounds, with semi finals and a final to decide the winner. I think a competition with, say, 24 dogs, then being cut to 12, and then your 6 for the final, could work well, and provide more greyhounds with a chance of earning some decent money.
I've taken a quick look at the 'Egg' card, and I'm hoping to have a preview of each race up here for Thursday evening. Obviously, I'll be highlighting the Swindon dog's races in particular detail. Do keep a look out!
Happy Punting!
Wattsy
P.S; for those interested, no I'm not off to Coventry.
Thanks for the blog - nice and informative, and as a relative newcomer really appreciate the information.
ReplyDeleteDisagree with the assessment of the dreadfully named Eggstravaganza - it should be a great day. However, you're the pro so I have to bow to your greater knowledge. It will give very positive coverage of the Greyhound business though! Hope also Swindon win the jackpot for next months BAGS prize fund :)