Boher Paddy, Slick Santiago shine in Betfred Steel City Cup semi-finals at Sheffield
Sheffield staged plenty of major events on Tuesday evening, but a couple of semi-finals of the Betfred Steel City Cup were highlight of the day.
The first encounter saw Charlie Lister’s maverick hound, Boher Paddy, blitzing the rest of the crew with ease. It was a very close battle in the beginning, as Boher Paddy was continuously troubled by his kennel-mate, Hather George.
The result was decided at the third bend, when Boher Paddy managed to get a handsome lead, and with Hather George being hampered at that stage, it became an easy journey for the 7-4 favourite.
After getting in command at the third bend, the black dog kept stretching his advantage, and seized the first place by 2¾ lengths.
Hather George could not recover after being hampered, and it gives an opportunity to Meadow Bank Owl to improve his standings. B. Draper’s charge did well to secure the runner-up spot by a neck distance.
Bit View Royal also ran on well to end up among top-3, but did not create any mess for the ultimate champion, who wrapped the affair in 28.90 seconds.
The second eliminator saw Slick Santiago performing to his high reputation. Despite getting crowded at the first bend, Keith Allsop's 11-8 favourite succeeded in establishing his dominance.
He paced up well thereafter, and manoeuvred things quite nicely to stretch his advantage. Following a splendid effort, the black dog clocked the distance in 28.76 seconds, scoring by four and a quarter lengths.
Mays Gold was a huge threat to the favourite runner at the start, but Slick Santiago bullied his way past C. Price’s trainee to kick on from the second bend.
Clonrooske Son, who was carrying the lowest odds of 10-1, surprised everyone by notching up the second position. H. Kemp’s trainee was lucky though, as Skywalker Louie fell short only by a short head’s distance.
It was an unlucky outing for Mays Gold, who could not continue his good work after a brilliant start. The black dog was quickly away, but got crowded at the first bend.
The £7,000 finale of the Betfred Steel City Cup will be broadcasted live on Sky Sports next week.
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