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Greyhound News: Bubbly on ice for annual honours

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The end of the year is nigh and the contenders for the coveted Greyhound of the Year award are all vying to get their noses in front in the run-up to the December awards ceremony...

Bubbly Totti put himself bang in contention for Greyhound of the Year honours with victory in last week's St Leger at Wimbledon.

Ted Soppitt's dog duly justified the odds and, having won the Yorkshire Leger and run-up in both the Scottish Derby and English Derby consolation final, he joins several other contenders for the awards ceremony in London early next year. These include the likes of Lenson Joker, Flying Winner and Boherna Best.

Bubbly Totti could reappear on the supporting programme to the All England Cup final at Newcastle next week.

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The countdown to the Eclipse at Nottingham begins this week with a number of trial stakes at Nottingham.

The event itself kicks off on Monday (November 10) and closes to entries on Thursday. The final, on Thursday November 20, will be featured on Sky Sports.

Incidentally, November sees the return to the track of Nathan Corden, son of the track's owner Terry and sister of the Colwick Park venue's MD Rachel. A former Nottingham GM, he has spent four years working in horseracing. He re-joins Nottingham as director of marketing, PR and sales at a track which has recently undertaken a £750,000 refurbishment programme.

The grandstand has been completely developed, with a plush restaurant and executive boxes complimenting existing facilities there.

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Favourite for the All England Cup, the next port of call for Sky's cameras at Newcastle next week, is Boherna Best.

Barrie Draper's dog produced an impressive heat performance and is rewarded with a decent draw for this week's semi-finals (Thursday). The final is on Wednesday November 12, live on Sky Sports.

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Jethart Jackie scored a major triumph for his new connections when landing the St Mungo Cup at Shawfield.

The son of former popular Scottish-trained bitch Jackies Lady, he recently switched to trainer Julie Bateson and victory in the £2,500 final ended a losing sequence.

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Sources close to negotiations to re-start racing at Walthamstow remain hopeful that the land can be purchased, or a lease deal struck, with its current owners, the housing association London & Quadrant.

"Discussions now seem less in the public eye than perhaps they have been, but there's plenty going on behind the scenes," said one source. "L & Q are now seriously listening to offers with all the economic and planning concerns they might have.

"It could still go either way, but hope remains. And they are not false hopes but any means. Watch this space."

The last race at the Stow took place on August 16 following 75 years of racing at the famous Chingford Road venue.