Tony Collett in fine form, says Jonathon Hobbs

General / Jonathan Hobbs / 13 July 2008 / Leave a Comment

Jonathon Hobbs talks us through the latest events in the world of greyhound racing which included a dream night for Tony Collett at Sunderland and Wesmead Lord returning to winning ways...

Only winning the Derby would ever match or better the achievement of trainer Tony Collett and his band of owners, led by Len Ponder, after their incredible double at Sunderland's UK Festival of Racing on Thursday.

To win the Grand Prix (£20k) was one thing, but to win the Classic (£40k) really was the stuff of greyhound racing fairytale. Add another winner on the card in the shape of Sherries Boy and no surprise the partylasted well into the next day!

But for Len and Pat Ponder, Ralph and Lorraine Lawrence and Tommy and Sherrie Mills, the day could have started better. Expensive train tickets were followed by a dry bar on the 'rattler', no air-conditioning and various delays.

All's well that ends well, however, and Lenson Joker in particular was the star of the show in the Classic final. He gave connections not a moment's worry to establish himself as the country's leading six-bender performer.

A clash with the likes of Ballymac Weeshie and Primitive Way might have to wait until the St Leger, but at this stage successes in the Cesarewitch and Grand Prix, not to mention a place in the Derby quarter-finals, have made this very much Lenson Joker's year.

Of course, Lenson Express did even better at Wimbledon, reaching the final. And although a tumble off the second bend left connections understandably with a sense of anti-climax, compensation awaited in spades at Sunderland.

And the way he cut down Bower Keane really was top-notch. It looked as if seven-months-pregnant Kelly Macari would be celebrating early when the local dog bolted clear but Lenson Express railed brilliantly and produced arguably his best-ever run when it mattered.

He is on fire at present and should continue to be supported, as should the Mills-owned Sherries Boy, who denied one of our 'dogs to follow' - Unique Prince - in the shadow of the post despite not really getting Sunderland right at all. A good run.

Elsewhere on the night, it was fantastic to see Westmead Lord return to the winner's enclosure, and the way he ran the second bend really caught the eye. Whether he can ever return to that Classic-winning level of form is open to question, but he can still run.

Westmead Osprey must have a great chance of winning the Produce Stakes at Swindon after following up an unlucky fast-finishing second in the puppy final at Sunderland with a heat success at Swindon two days later. He really looks a star.

As does Barnfield Brooke, who put behind her a lean spell brought on by a series of setbacks to win the marathon in a canter. That Golden Jacket form is also working out well - Tipp the Breeze is the latest Crayford finalist to be winning races for fun.

Finally, as the Sky cameras roll on to Hall Green for the Gymcrack final on Tuesday, a special word of congratulations to Blonde Dino.

Winner of the Dundalk International at the weekend, the John Mullins-trained, Mark Currell-owned runner upheld the Derby form in sensational style to defeat a high-class Irish-trained line-up in the valuable one-off.

It means big-race successes for two of the dogs who finished behind Loyal Honcho on May 31, Lenson Express and now third-placed Blonde Dino. A top-notch training performance from both Tony Collett and John Mullins.