Laurels Betting: Sheffield trainer has dogs to land the spoils

Events / Darrell Williams / 25 September 2008 / Leave a Comment

Darrell Williams looks at the odds ahead of the heats for the Belle Vue event which gets underway tonight (September 25).

The greyhound bandwagon rolls on to Belle Vue this evening with the heats of the Laurels, a Category One competition that culminates with a live final on Sky Sports a week next Tuesday.

While Charlie Lister's record in the race can't match his nine victory haul at Yarmouth, the champion trainer has nevertheless sent out the winner four times, with three of those victories coming in the last four years.

With Fear Zafonic withdrawn lame, the Newark hander relies solely on Farloe Reason, who broke the track record in the first round of the East Anglian Derby before a rough ride saw his exit at the next stage.

These days nobody takes any chances with Lister runners, and while he could easily add another title to the trainer's haul, there is little incentive in his outright price to make you want to rush off and back him at this stage. His solo trial reads well, but the Manchester circuit is a tricky one to run first time, and with Irish Derby third Ballymac Ruso drawn in the same heat (9.11) it's unlikely to be a walk in the park.

Ruso himself is interesting, and if his excellent Shelbourne efforts are taken at face value he must be a big player. But again he is untried - he hasn't even trialled - at the track and his price is based entirely on his Irish exploits.

Boherna Best has not been seen since beating a decent field in the Monmore Gold Cup final last month, but could hardly have trialled in better with a brace of fast sprint times, one of which was fractionally inside the track best. Barrie Draper has enjoyed an excellent year and his decision to concentrate purely on the Open race circuit has certainly yielded dividends. Boherna Best has won nine of his 12 starts, with a record of six from eight in this country, and while the Monmore win was undoubtedly his best effort to date he also won a Puppy final at Hove on Sussex Cup night and was also a Gymcrack finalist. I make him my main selection for the event, with my enthusiasm for tonight's race (8.55) tempered only slightly by the presence of Mancini on his inside. While Ted Soppitt's runner has been a little out of sorts, the return to the red box at Belle Vue might trigger a better break, but with Boherna Best likely to edge middle anyway, that hopefully won't be a problem.

Draper's Boherna On Air will also have his supporters outright, but faces a red hot heat tonight (8.25) with early paced Maltese Force on his inside, and the exceptionally quick Mustang Garcia in trap four. While the last named lacks consistency, he's almost impossible to beat on the bunny and could hardly have run any better in last week's trial stakes.

Deanridge Fury enjoyed an unbeaten run through the Manchester Puppy Cup, comfortably accounting for his field in last week's final. This event, of course, is far tougher, up against all aged rivals, but Dean Childs' dog has done all his running in competitions, having also reached the Puppy Derby semi-finals before claiming third in the Puppy Classic at Nottingham and has had to learn fast.

He faces a potentially nightmare draw this evening (8.10) from trap three, but is undoubtedly the quickest dog in the line-up, and may have been underestimated because of the reasons outlined. I therefore also recommend his inclusion in your outright wagers.