Champions Night Marathon heats don't dissapoint at Romford
There was much to see at Romford last night. After three heats deciding the final for the Champions Night Maiden Stayers, were three more heats that were to decide the Champions Night Marathon final. The Marathon heats were run over a distance of 750 metres. Both £1,000 finals are set to go on 8 September.
The opening heat produced two huge surprises. First, heavy race favourite Midway Skipper, who ran from the first trap at 1-5 odds, not only did not win the race, but wasn’t even able to qualify for the final. Skipper did not get off to a good start, was repeatedly pushed back behind the other hounds, and finished the race in fourth place.
The other shock was seeing 16-1 longshot, Salacres Freedom, not only win the race, but win it handily. Freedom got the best start of the group, and did not relinquish the lead for the entire 750 metres. Of late, Freedom has been running 500 metre races, but has not performed well in them, failing to finish above third in her previous four races. She could be the dark horse of the final next week.
Qualifying behind Freedom was Matching Amy, who was slow from the traps, but managed to pass Mickey No Nose, who was just a little more than nose behind Amy as they crossed the finish line.
Eliminated along with No Nose and Skipper, were Buglys Spirit and Eye Onthe Spirit.
The second marathon heat saw 5-4 race favourite, Droopys Kirbee, take the lead after the seventh bend from Curryhills Pearl. Pearl led from the traps to the seventh bend, but wasn’t able to sustain her pace over the longest race of her career as she finished all the way back in fifth place.
Behind Kirbee was 33-1 longshot, Mistley Lucky, who must have had a lot of luck with him as he qualified for the final ahead of third place finisher Say It Clearly. Also eliminated in this heat were Droopys Class and Tip Top Audrey.
The third heat saw no surprises as 8-11 race favourite, Bodell Clare, led from the second bend and took first place over 2-1, Capel Yankee, by 2 1/4 lengths. Clare and Yankee were matched up with four hounds with long odds. Jogadusc Jasper, Benro Benny, Riptide Jack, and Salacres Optimum were all eliminated from the final.
The draw for the marathon final will look like this: 1 Matching Amy, 2 Salacres Freedom, 3 Bodell Clare, 4 Droopys Kirbee, 5 Capel Yankee, 6 Mistley Lucky.
Tags: