Events / Darrell Williams / 23 June 2009 / 1 Comments

The venue for the TV Trophy is a mere hop, skip and jump from Ted Soppitt's North East base but the Champagne Club will be backing Bubble Eagle to spread his wings and fly around the Newcastle track on Wednesday night. Darrell Williams previews the Live on Sky Sports action...

Whoever came up with the brilliant idea to send the TV Trophy around the country again, as in its 'BBC' days, should be applauded. Not least of all for the high quality of its winners, which has seen Roxholme Girl, Spiridon Louis and Flying Winner claim the three runnings since the event left its semi-permanent home of Wimbledon in 2006.

Ted Soppitt will certainly be pleased with the decision to head to Newcastle for this year's race - live on Sky Sports on Wednesday evening - being just a stone's throw from his Durham base - and so will the hundreds of Champagne Club owners if, as expected, Bubbly Eagle can add his name to that illustrious list of winners.

While the supporting finals, the newly instigated Angel of the North and Tyneside Derby - more on those later - look mightily competitive, the TV Trophy almost looks Bubbly Eagle's for the taking, even if the price (1.61) won't be for everybody. It's not just that he has 20 spots in hand on Barnfield Brooke on their comparative heat runs, but he also has a recent verdict over that rival and Midway Skipper in the Dorando on Derby final night. Having won three of his four races over 800m or further, Bubbly Eagle already looks the 'real deal' in terms of the next marathon star, and while his off the pace style will always give hope to those looking to oppose him, Soppitt's insistence that he is a 'clever dog, who will wait for the gaps' adds further encouragement to his chances of winning one of the sport's most prestigious prizes.

His second lap performance in last week's heats was around eight lengths quicker than Barnfield Brooke and a whooping 13 lengths faster than Midway Skipper, which certainly confirms he will take some stopping granted a clear run.

The Tyneside Derby (9.25) looks a potential minefield for punters, but early speed stole the day in the heats with all three winners dominating from the front. While Ardkill Tunoco is perhaps the faster dog, his draw alongside fellow heat winner Coolavanny Dart could be fraught with danger, and I'd rather side with in-form Mill Pinpoint for Sunderland handler Kelly Macari. A draw between two Charlie Lister hotpots, Farloe Reason and Affleck Elite, might look threatening, but Macari's dog has been ultra consistent at the traps recently, clocking the best time for the trip this year a few weeks ago. He can dominate from traps rise.

I also expect Macari's Unshakable to run a big race in the Angel of the North (8.35), and she undoubtedly looks over-priced. Narrowly touched off in her heat - amazingly all three qualifiers were won by the minimum short-head margin - she was having only her second run back after a lengthy lay-off and can show further improvement. More so, she looks good for an early lead on the outside. Lister's Was Not Me rates the danger, and is another bound to improve having only just returned for the heats after a three month absence, and with favourite Plan opposable after three recent odds-on defeats, he might also be worth a saver.