Caffreys Standard Maiden Trophy heats recap
Three heats at Nottingham decided which hounds will compete in next week’s Caffreys Standard Maiden Trophy Final Monday night. The top two finishers in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat one
It was 6-4 race favourite, Slick Boy, winning the first of the three heats. Slick got off to the best start of the group, but couldn’t pull away from the pack until the second bend. Once in front, Slick
stretched his lead, winning the race by 6½ lengths over Salacres Casata with a time of 30.43 seconds.
Casata qualified for the final along with Slick, but it was a much closer race for the veteran. Romeo In Line wouldn’t surrender second place easily, but Casata managed to stay ahead of him, crossing the
finish line a head in front of the Montague.
Another half length behind Romeo was Harriet Hawk in fourth place, and in fifth, replacing Key Signature in the fourth trap, was King Bolt. Finishing well back, in last place was King Rabadabadoo.
Heat two
The second heat featured three co-favourites with 3-1 odds: Sandy Legend, Blue Fox Ace, and Salacres Gift. But it was 6-1 longshot, Hovinto, that won the heat by a length over Legend with a time of 30.36.
Legend had the early lead, and Hovinto actually lost ground on the first bend, but a strong finish gave Hovinto the lead as the pair neared the finish line.
Blue Fox took third, 4¾ lengths behind Legend, and a head behind him in fourth was Sporty Fortune. The other co-favourite, Salacres Gift, finished in fifth, 3¾ lengths behind Fortune. Gift lost significant
ground on the second bend, and wasn’t able to recover.
Another hound having difficulty on the second bend was Salacres Optimum, who also got off to the worst start of the group. The combination of a poor start, and a baulk on the second bend contributed to
Optimum’s last place finish.
Heat three
The fastest time of the heats was set by Zack Zolton, an 8-1 longshot in the third heat, who finished with a time of 30.21. Zolton had the quickest start of the heat as he cruised to an impressive 12 length
win over Pony Daisy.
In third place was Moscow Tears, who missed out on second place, and a spot in the final, by 1½ lengths. In fourth was Hee Haws Montana, and in fifth was Rith Agus Rumble.
Finishing in last place after terrible third and fourth bends was 6-4 race favourite, Lonely Boy.
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