I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome Neil Jones to the graded strength at Swindon! Neil currently trains the 'Cimla' prefix dogs. Looking at the grading for Saturday, it looks as though they are bolstering the top grades here at Swindon, which is a big help in getting quality racing on. Neil's a great bloke, who has long supported the track in open racing. All the best!
Anyway, a look at the competition heats on Friday. Unfortunately, there were only 14 entries in the book (half of which were a certain Mr Hutton's!), alas this is only now a 2 heat affair. It's a touch disappointing really, however what we do have is two top quality heats. Best of luck to everyone in the competition. On the final's night, there are supporting opens over different distances, so hopefully next Friday night will be an OR extravaganza!
One thing to note before looking into these opens, and this is more a general note about the open race trap draw procedure in general, is quite frankly how backward it is. Any outsider looking at the races will wonder why the middle seeds were not more spread out. I understand the thinking that a random draw (which it is, as entries were faxed to the GBGB, where they were drawn for) is the only fair way of doing it, however surely it's a common sense and welfare issue that greyhounds are split in accordance to safe racing. Having 5 railers in a race is never good (however, it does happen alot), and if anything can be done to avoid this (things like finals etc, it's unavoidable) then it should be done.
Anyway, rant over, let's look at the opens;
21:00 - The Swindon Friday Night Standard - Heat 1
My Pick: Witcombe Dilemma
By how much I'm tipping the dog, you'd half think I owned a leg in him! In all seriousness, this is a seriously tough heat to fathom. The 5 railer conundrum is hard enough, let alone the sheet amount of early pace that's in the race. I've sided with Dilemma solely on the draw. On the outside of the 5 railers, you have to fancy Dilemma to slip round the outside. If he's out on the bunny, I can't see much picking him up in a race which is full of 'ping gone' sorts.
Arguably the one to look at would be Ballymac Cryan. Matt Dartnall's Arc winner from 2012 will be running on like a steam train against this field. The stumbling block in fancying him is that his recent form isn't the best (compared to what he used to be). However, he has to be looked at as a forecast link.
To me, trap 1 Youtalktoomuch looks a touch outclassed here, though he does have a good draw on the fence inside a sleeper at the traps. I see him going off at double digits here.
Trap 3 Jolly Bullseye is an interesting runner here. A finalist in the Arc this year, aswell as a big OR runner at Romford, Bullseye has had a bit of a stop-start campaign recently. His latest two trials aren't up to his standards really, and it'll be interesting to see how he takes this race. You write him off at your peril, yet on his recent form you wouldn't be a player at any price.
Trap 4 Alarming Jacks, to me, looks to be one of the best bitches in training this year, and you have to think that Kev has her lined up for the Oaks at Belle Vue later in the year. She's recently come back from a spell off the track with a good 29.42 run at Coventry, and she can only come on from that run. The problem here is the horrendous trap draw. Jack's is one of the tightest railers around, so trap 4 is a bit of a nightmare here. Fingers crossed she can show a good kick of early and get a handy position early. If scooting clear, she'll certainly be in the frame.
Longwood Fantasy for Colin Callow runs in trap 5 here. He's one of my favourites, as the old boy has put in some cracking races in his career. He's certainly past his absolute best, however he proved in the Arc this year that he can put in a big run when needed. I think the 5 box here is ideal for him, however it's whether he lives with the early pace around him.
My Qualifiers: Witcombe Dilemma, Ballymac Cryan, Alarming Jacks
The Swindon Friday Night Standard - Heat 2
My Pick: Klockwork Kaipo
Again, another cracking heat that's also rather difficult to fathom. 5 middle runners make this one a battle to the bend again, with Klockwork Kaipo my pick to lead and win all the way. Paul Sallis' Produce finalist ran the track really well during the competition back in July, and can make all so long as he's reproducing the sort of split times he was during the competition. He's a cracking dog, with a big future ahead of him still. He should win this one comfortably enough, but I can't envisage him being much of a price.
Trap 1 Rewind Express, on paper, looks to have a lovely draw here for Matt Dartnall, however I was really disappointed with her run on Tuesday night. She looked a bit flat coming off the 2nd to me, and when early pace and hanging on is your game, then you really need to be running better into the 3rd bend. She has the draw, but to me she's a slight drop in class to the others in here.
Jacobs Courage, for Ken Humphreys, in an interesting runner in trap 2 here. He's a dog that can trap and can stay on well enough too. His races at Belle Vue are pretty decent, however he'll have to be with them early to hang with the leaders in this race. I'd personally rather see him out of 4 or 5 (obviously, we can't pick traps in OR's!), so he may possibly veer towards the middle of the track early.
Stanton John is my forecast linker here for Kevin Hutton. He's made a cracking start to his racing career, winning two maiden races over the 4 bends, winning in style the last time he was here. This is a step up for him, and it'll be interesting to see what he makes of the early pace battle with Kaipo. He's another pinger who can stay well enough, and I certainly think he has the class to get to the final. He also has the ideal trap for him in my mind.
Trap 5 Cremartin Lark is a new one for me. Looking at his form, he looks a seriously handy dog. He has winning form over 480m and 630m at Monmore, however I can't help but think that this Swindon 480, with the early pace sorts in the race, might be a bit too short for him. I can't help but think though that he could be an awesome 509m dog (a competition for this will start in two weeks time). Definitely could be in the picture.
Trap 6 Longwood Bound is my third qualifier from this race. Colin Callow's dog doesn't have the best immediate recent form, however he was a finalist of the Sussex Cup a couple of months back at Hove. On his way to that big final, he recorded a 29.72, a good run for their 515m trip. He's a finalist of this year's Arc, and looks a big runner out wide. He will be tracking in on the 5 dog, however with the 5 being a bit sluggish at the traps, I can see him going up with a clear run. I reckon he could be a big runner at a good price.
My Qualifiers: Klockwork Kaipo, Stanton John, Longwood Bound
All the best to everyone in the competition!
Happy Punting!
Wattsy,
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