Events / Darrell Williams / 29 June 2009 / Leave a comment

Darrell Williams runs through the betting ahead of Tuesday night's Cesarewitch final.

Another historic prize will be decided in front of Sky Sports cameras at Oxford on Tuesday evening when the Cesarewitch comes up for decision. With a history tracing back to 1928 - Mick The Miller was one of the race's first winners, the race was originally staged at the huge West Ham stadium until its demise in the early seventies.

Strangely, since the race switched to Oxford in 2001, Hove raiders have done particularly well registering three successes, all of which should augur well for Claude Gardiner's Sussex raider He Went Whoosh.

The former Derby-winning handler's charge has done nothing wrong in his two qualifying races, making all the running off fast sectionals on both occasions, and with four wins from his last seven starts, he's certainly in good form.

However, the worry for those rushing in to take the short odds is the presence of equally quick starting Romeo Turbo on his outside. Dave Firmager's dog did well to reach the Derby quarter-finals, particularly as he might have been rushed to make the gig having not raced after last October going into the competition.

On his old six bend form, which includes a runners-up spot in last year's Grand Prix at Sunderland, he'd have a great chance if he happened to clear He Went Whoosh, but while he's obviously going to get stronger with each run over the trip, I'm not convinced he's staying strongly enough at the moment to make him a selection, even if he does happen to lead the favourite.

Instead I'm siding with Bada Who, who landed a huge gamble in picking up Romeo Turbo in the semi-finals, having been nearly eight lengths behind him at the line first time.

Third in the Peterborough Marathon in April to Barnfield Brooke, he looks well drawn inside middle moving Melodys Comet, although in fairness given his likely slow start that is probably immaterial. But with nine open wins already this year, he certainly knows how to do it and - for certain - nothing will be finishing faster.

On a potentially tricky supporting card, the lack of local form in many races doesn't help. However, I'm pretty confident of collecting on a couple of trap one runners.

Brickfield Class (9.25) has been a marvelous servant for his veteran trainer Bob Gilling, losing out by a mere short head to Drink Up Zorro in March's Pall Mall final over this 450m trip. Despite having had just over 100 Open races, he could hardly be in better form, with victories in four of his last five outings. But it's his draw in trap one that really sways me in his favour. A winner of 10/16 races over CD, he has won 4/6 of those when clad in the red, and with Barnfield Rocky likely to edge right, he should have every chance to do his running.

The last named is obviously a useful sort, having won the Peterborough Puppy Derby in good style back in April, but he lacks a look at the Cowley circuit, which should allow the selection to get first run.

My other trap one gem (hopefully!) is Alfie Sparra (7.40), another with a proven record at the track having won two of his three previous outings at Oxford. While he has failed to win in seven opens so far this year, it's his beating of rival Heavenly Club in a local A1 that catches the eye, with that rival's early style likely to set the race up for his trackmate.

For those who don't mind the more speculative wagers, I'd suggest Dromana Becky (8.50) for the marathon. Barry O'Sullivan's bitch has only just stepped up in trip, but proved her ability when runner-up in the Dorando at Wimbledon, while Little Jig (9.10) is interesting on her six bend debut, having won four of her nine outings so far this year.