General / Editor / 16 August 2009 / Leave a comment

The Lord reflects on a cracking night in SW1 which provided clues as to which dogs might be in the running for the Derby 2010.

"A high quality Puppy Derby final means that all six dogs in the decider will be winning plenty of races, but at this stage the Derby 2010 Deanridge Rage."

Hats off to Nick Savva as he spiked the young gun Dean Childs (Deanridge Rage) and his great rival for Derby honours Charlie Lister (Farloe Razl) with a cracking win in the Puppy Derby final at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

Westmead Logan was the dog's name and it was a great effort from the youngster, who first shot to prominence when he equalled the track record at Peterborough in their Puppy Derby heats. The irony is that, originally, Westmead Logan was the only one of this Westmead Swift litter who was kept at Westmead Kennels, Nick clearly loved him. Others have subsequently returned to the great man.

Credit is due to runner-up Blood Of Kings, who really showed electrifying speed. It looked a tall order for Julie Bateson's dog when he trapped a length behind him, but he sped to the turn in great style.

As for the future, a high quality Puppy Derby final means that all six dogs in the decider will be winning plenty of races, but at this stage the Derby 2010 dogs would be Westmead Logan and Deanridge Rage - 480m just tests Blood Of Kings' stamina.

As for other clues on the card, King Lee looked an exciting type as he led them a merry dance in the supporting puppy contest, only just being outstayed by Eye Onthe Flash.

King Lee is one of a conveyor belt of talent that owner Brendan Keogh has bought, in some cases even bred, that have been sent to Wimbledon trainer Tony Taylor for experience. Taylor has done a great job, and this one might soon be heading off to Keogh's main trainer Rab McNair for a serious open-racer campaign.

With the marathon on final night not filling, puppies and bitches were well catered for on Puppy Derby final night, and Olygirl looked as good as ever in her bitches' race. Her effort was just denied by Monis Pet, but she goes in the book to follow.
Rally Town was a very unlucky loser in the 460m open and, had he come away better, would have bolted home. Admittedly it wasn't the greatest of races, and he has his level, but he clearly remains in good heart.

Brimardon Star continues to perform well and won the six-bend race well, but the performance of Brian Clemenson's Useful Asset was eye-catching and he should be watched next time, presumably back at Hove.
He lost his position into the turn and was buffeted out of contention, but was not beaten far in the end.

Likewise, a Wimbledon outing for Tasty Rambler should not go unnoticed. He showed a lot of pace in the race won by Carden Bert and is worth catching up with next time.

The hurdles race saw Platinumlancelot confirm his position at the top of the hurdling pile as Bomber Bailey took a crashing fall, but in behind Nebuchadnezzar made up a lot of ground and is back to his best.

Others that caught the eye were brilliant bitch winner Ardbeg Kate, who took a step up in class in her stride. She could be anything, and is certainly an Oaks bitch even now.

There was some cracking action at Monmore on Monday and all is set for the semi-finals of the Gold Cup there on Monday.

Win or lose, two of Julie Bateson's dogs caught the eye. Barbies Man showed great speed to win his heat, while Target Classic would have got closer to winning his heat after fluffing the start.

Bateson has a number of good ex-Irish dogs in her care just now and Target Classic, who used to be called Drumna Classic, was a Scottish Derby finalist earlier this year for previous connections.

Tags: Greyhounds Betting, Monmore Greyhounds Racing, The Lord's Greyhounds Column, Westmead Logan, Wimbledon Greyhounds Racing