Sky Previews: Can Boherna be All England's Best twice over?

Sky Previews / Darrell Williams / 07 November 2009 / Leave a Comment

Newcastle's historical All England Cup takes place this Wednesday night in front of Sky Sports cameras, whose viewers could be witnessing history in the making.

Newcastle's All England Cup has a history tracing back to Ballyjoker winning the first renewal for the legendary Stanley Orton in 1938, but until now no greyhound has ever won the competition twice.

That could all change this Wednesday evening as Sky Sports cameras descend on the Byker based venue where Boherna Best, an emphatic five length winner last year, will bid to cement his own small piece of history by winning the race for a second successive season.

This time last year the Barrie Draper trained three year old was winning big race finals as if they were going out of fashion, having also claimed the Monmore Gold Cup and Laurels en route to his Newcastle success. All of which set him as a major candidate for the GBGB Greyhound of the Year award, a title which ultimately narrowly eluded him. Runner-up in the Juvenile in March, his long-term target of the Derby failed to see him progress beyond the third round, while an attempt at the Irish Derby was thwarted owing to sickness just before the event.

However, a recent third place in the Irish Laurels at Cork suggests he still has plenty to offer, and those who saw his semi-final defeat of Derby finalist Ballymac Ruso in this competition the other night will certainly agree that to be the case.

Riding an early bump, Boherna Best buckled down strongly to set about Matt Dartnall's charge before reeling him in just before the line. A reproduction of that performance would undoubtedly make him the one to beat at around [3.1]. If there is one small worry since his return from Ireland it's been his ability to adjust back to the different starting traps in this country, although he trapped far better in the semi-final than in the first round.

But winning the All England Cup will be no walk in the park, with Julie Bateson's Ardkill Tunoco (trading at [4.1]) rating the biggest danger. Unbeaten in four starts over the 480m trip - Boherna Best has won 4 from 5 over the CD - 'Tunoco' clocked the fastest time of the year when winning his own semi-final (7 spots quicker than Boherna Best) and would hold strong claims if able to control the early pace.

That will however depend on him clearing kennelmate Target Classic, like Ardkill Tunoco unbeaten in the two preliminary rounds, whose tendency to edge right on the run-up could potentially spell trouble for the two Target Lads owned runners.

While Ballymac Ruso had to give second best to Boherna Best in the semis, the dual Derby finalist remains open to improvement, having not raced for two months coming into this event, and while a trap six draw would probably not have been connection's chosen berth he did set a track-record when carrying the stripes in a Monmore final last December. A victory for the Olympic winner, on offer at [4.8], would create its own chunk of history, as trainer Matt Dartnall's father Terry claimed it way back in 1983 with Squire Cass.