The Lord's Dogs Column: Punters set for Autumn bonanza

General / The Lord / 07 November 2009 / Leave a comment

Fantastic final anticipated at Newcastle, Head Iton for improvement and beware of Mark Wallis - The Lord checks in with his weekly dogs update.

"Ardkill Tunoco and Target Classic have the best of the draw given that Ballymac Ruso will be heading inwards from six in the dash to the bend. That means Boherna Best might be squeezed. It's a fantastic race."

Newcastle and Doncaster dominate the open-race landscape this week, with the semi-finals of the All England Cup and heats of the Yorkshire Leger providing a bonanza for punters. And the Lord has seen all the relevant clues.

Starting with Newcastle, and looking ahead to Wednesday's live-on-Sky final, Julie Bateson looks in prime position.

Her two runners Ardkill Tunoco and Target Classic looks to have the best of the draw given that fast-starting Ballymac Ruso will definitely be heading inwards from six in the dash to the bend. That means impressive Boherna Best, in five, might be squeezed for room. Either way, it's a fantastic race.

Looking to the future, Head Iton Ellis has done enough in his two races in heat and semi-final at Newcastle to suggest that, win or lose on Wednesday, he is definitely one to follow. He had been off for a long while, so there is plenty of scope for improvement. He looks an even better dog than he was.

And while both were knocked out Eye Onthe Flash and Elwick Heights both caught the eye in the earlier rounds, as did Gan On Whiskey. The latter might have been flying a tad high in the All England Cup but can still win his share of A1s and opens in the future.

Doncaster's heats underlined the class of the recent Wimbledon St Leger, with Droopys Zach among the winners as he reversed form with kennelmate and Classic champion Kinda Easy.

But those that can do better heading into the semis are Crown Rover, who found all sorts of problems in his heats, and Capel Smiley, who fairly walked out of the boxes and did well to finish as close as he did.

Sheffield continues to stage a decent open-race programme and Love Knight looks ready to take a step up in class after completing a hat-trick of open-race wins on Tuesday. It takes a good dog to go under 16 seconds at Owlerton, which he did with a runaway win.

And for 'Lordy' fans, it was good to see Amazing Value take the Sheffield final. He has featured here before when shining over two bends, but a short four bends is definitely within his compass in higher class.

Back Freedom Man in the hurdles final at Romford on Friday.

Maxine Locke's dog is only just back from a lay-off and was like an excited pup in the boxes for the hats of the Triumph Hurdle on Monday - you could hear him from the terraces!

That second might have blown the cobwebs away, and a fast start can see him ping clear for a comfortable victory. The others might just be messing around in behind.

Nottingham keeps up the pace as it counts town to the Eclipse, and a good card on Monday saw Farloe Lee show again what a good dog he is with a start, beating a good-class field.

Jimmy Lollie and Ballylacey Boy were impressive winners in the sprint races, as was Fabulous Quest in the bitches' final.

But less likely to have caught the eye are Delwood Freddie, Beautiful City and Milly Marina. All were beaten in their races but not disgraced by any stretch. Keep them onside.

By way of footnote, beware of Mark Wallis. It seems obvious to say, but his kennel continues to have a great year. On Tuesday alone, there were seven open-race wins alone at Doncaster and Hall Green. There is no stopping Imperial Kennels just now.

Tags: Ardkill tunoco, Ballymac Ruso, Greyhounds Betting, Head Iton Ellis, Julie Bateson, Mark Wallis, Newcastle greyhounds, Nottingham Greyhounds, Sheffield Greyhounds, The Lord's Dogs Column