Week Ending 10th November

Monday 4th
A couple of winners to begin a good week with.
Sligo Mick got a much deserved win in his A2 as he pinged the lids to record a good 2.36 sectional and went on to win by 2 1/2 lengths in 29.09.
Stanton Ovation who's been running consistently well of late got a victory in his A4 as he won by a head in 29.52.
We had a couple of runners at Romford in the stayers comp and were unlucky to get both Ding Hero and Champion Stakes hero Airport Captain drawn together. Both qualified in 2nd and 3rd respectively but Captain was subsequently lame on his hind leg and has damaged the ligaments in the hock and faces around 3 months on the easy list. It's a massive shame as he'll now miss the Essex Vase which was his last remaining target of the year but he should make a full recovery which is the main thing.
Tuesday 5th
11 dogs were sent to trials this morning and it was a fairly good session for us.
Gemstone Jack pleased with a 29.15 solo. Tseal went nicely in his first 4 bend trial for us posting 29.31. June 12 baby Fleetwood Kittie delighted us with her 29.62 effort in beating Forest Lexie (also a June 12) by 1 3/4 lengths. Reel Tiger who's a March 12 unraced pup recorded 30.00.
Nickys Love returned to Swindon with a 29.58 run while new recruits Gleannure Mario (16.37) and Dubai Swift (16.83) went well enough in their sprints.
Mercurial Jet (16.61), Glendine Girl (16.82) and Oxfordshire Gold Cup winner Barnish Booth (16.38) all went well as they returned from various problems.
Wednesday 6th
A poor day at Hove in the first leg of the BAGS Track Championship as none of our 4 runners did any good. I think the whole Swindon team looks very weak this year and there's not been much forward planning to it at all which is a shame. It's come at a bad time for our kennel as most of the existing dogs have won more than one open race and the whole bunch of exciting new dogs we've got coming through wont be qualified in time to take part which is a shame as our kennel has always had an excellent record in these events.
We managed another couple of winners at Swindon with Droopys Harper and Forest Pearl on the score sheet. It was great to see Forest Pearl win her first race for us after several good runs in defeat. She won by a head in 29.53. Droopys Harper won his A2 in 29.39.
Friday 8th
We'll start at Swindon where we had a brilliant night as the kennel won the last 5 races of the night and there were some superb performances from our new arrivals.
Fairhill Paddy got the ball rolling as he made it 2 from 2 since arriving from Ireland as he flew the lids (2.34 sectional) and led all the way to win in 28.55. He looks to be improving all the time now and will head to Romford next week with a possible tilt at the Essex Vase on the agenda.
Fiscal Cliff showed the benefit for last week's debut run at Swindon as he pinged the lids and led all the way to win his A2 in 28.86. Cliff has only had 3 races in his life now and has won 2 of them (the other was a stunning sprint debut in Drumbo) and he's not 2 until January. He'll be given some more experience in the coming weeks and will then more than likely be put away for the winter.
Forest Mollie beat Gemstone Jack by a neck in the other A1 and both dogs ran really well. Jack was returning from a lengthy lay off with a wrist injury and will improve for the race while Mollie has been very lightly raced lately and will really benefit from some consistent racing. She won in 29.05.
Alarming Alan got a much deserved win in his A2 and he came with a late rattle to get up on the line in 29.57.
June 12 baby, Boom Boom Dave, also showed the benefit for his debut run last week as he looked a different dog tonight in winning the A3 by 3 1/4 lengths in 29.27. This lad is bred to stay and is another very good prospect for next year. Finalee is also worthy of a mention as she ran a good race to finish 2nd. This was only her 3rd ever race and there's plenty more to come from this youngster.
Over at Romford we just had the one winner but there were a couple of good performances too.
Southern Mesut who was very impressive on debut last week at Swindon in the A1 was given a drop in trip to the 400m and it certainly paid dividends as he led pretty much all the way to win by 5 1/4 lengths in a very good 24.17. This was a hugely impressive run for such an inexperienced dog (he'd only had 5 runs in Ireland before coming over) and looks to have a bright future.
Under The Radar, Glanmire Warrior and Jet Stream Odds all ran well in defeat and will head back to Romford again next week.
Saturday 9th
Another very good night for us as we returned with 3 winners and again we had some hugely pleasing runs from some of our new recruits. We've worked really hard in recent months on improving the class of the kennel and to get the open race team ready for next year and we're delighted with how the youngsters have progressed so far.
Jan 12 puppy, Jet Stream Olly, won at the third time of asking in A1 and did it really well in the end as he came from behind kennel mate Swords Messi to win in 29.04. It's tough for any pup to go straight in to A1 company but Olly has handled himself very well and is only just starting to settle in so there should be plenty more to come from this lad.
Boom Boom Hero made it 2 from 2 as he took a step up in class in his stride to win by 1 3/4 lengths in a personal best 29.02. This lad is only a June 12 baby and is a long way off being the finished article yet and at 35.5 kilos will need time to strengthen up but I really don't think we've had a pup as good as this at his age before. Marley as he is known is a huge prospect and will possibly head to Monmore in December for a puppy competition before being put away for a break. His main target will be the Monmore Puppy Derby in the early part of next year.
Punchestown Boy has made a brilliant start to his racing career and made it 2 wins from 3 starts as he led virtually all the way in his A2 to win by 2 3/4 lengths in a good 29.18. Although Punch is an Aug 11 whelp he was un raced in Ireland before coming over and then went lame in a qualifying trial for us so he's very inexperienced which makes his record all the more impressive.
Puppies Jet Stream Jet and Reel Tiger both ran well in defeat and wont be too long in winning.

In Other News.....
Off The Radar left us this week to enjoy his new life as a pet. He's got a lovely home in Reading close to Tony and Tina who owned him during his career. Radar is a smashing little dog with a lovely nature and was a cracking dog on the track winning countless races. He'll make a lovely pet.
We've some more lovely young pups settling in at the kennel that haven't made an appearance yet this side of the water. 3 of them have been bought to make top class but it's likely they'll wait until next year now before making their debuts. We look to have a very good team in the making for next year.
Hopefully we'll have a few dogs to run in the Essex Vase in a couple of weeks but the loss of track record holder, Airport Captain has severely weakened the team.
The next main competitions after the Essex Vase will be the English Oaks and Laurels at Belle Vue. Droopys Danneel, Alarming Jacks and Allen Buttercup will be our main hopes in the Oaks while Jolly Bullseye and Jet Stream Odds could be ideal for the Laurels.
Derby finalist and Arc runner-up Screen Critic is in great order at home as he recovers from the injuries sustained in the Select Stakes at Nottingham. He'll be ready for galloping in a couple of weeks but wont be racing again until next year now.