Preview: Belle Vue Keith Swain Manchester Puppy Cup Semi-Finals
Belle Vue is set to host the Keith Swain Manchester Puppy Cup Semi-Finals on Thursday. The top three hounds from each semi-final will advance to the final.
Keith Swain Manchester Puppy Cup 1st semi-final
In the first trap of the first semi-final is Whiteoak Striker, currently sitting at 16-1. Striker has been steadily improving, moving from A5 to A2 races in a little move three months. He’s only raced
once at the A2 level, but he won that race by 3¼ lengths.
Baliff Lucy will go from trap two. Lucy has been racing at the A4 level, and is consistently in the top three, often winning races. She finished third behind Tudor Prince in the first round of the Puppy
Cup, and is sitting as a 14-1 longshot.
Tudor Price is the 2-5 favourite in this semi-final, and will have little trouble advancing to the final. He’s a consistent winner, and on the odd occasion he doesn’t win a race, he still usually finishes
in second. He’ll be a heavy favourite by the time the traps open, with good reason. He’ll race from trap three.
In the fourth trap is Ballymac West, another longshot currently at 12-1. West has little experience, but he has a very good winning percentage, including last week’s Puppy Cup heat. Punters looking for
a longshot to try their luck on need look no further.
Borna Coin lost to Tudor Prince in the first round by 1¼ lengths, but Prince was hit by another racer on the second bend in that race. Without some contact Coin may not be able to keep up to Prince as
easily. At 9-2, Coin is a good one for punters to stay away from. He’ll go from trap five.
Soviet Fantasy will race from the sixth trap as a 7-1 longshot. Fantasy led after the first bend in his heat last week, but lost the lead on the third bend, ending up in third. Another third place finish
is probably the best she can hope for in this semi-final.
Keith Swain Manchester Puppy Cup 2nd semi-final
Ballymac Drogba will race from the first trap as a 16-1 longshot in the second semi-final. Drogba barely managed to earn his spot in the semi-final after a slow start last week. Another slow start in this
race and he’ll find himself bringing up the rear.
In trap two is Ballymac Denis with 6-1 odds. Last week Denis missed his break but, still managed to take second place after sticking to the rails. Denis was in trap one last week and may have a tougher
time getting to the inside in this race.
Ballymac Ace will go from trap three in this race. He’s sitting at 12-1 after losing by 5¼ lengths to Rayvin Neasa last week, but he did manage to pass Soviet Fantasy to earn second place.
Last week, Blue Blood led for most of the race after Droopys Luisao missed his break, but wasn’t able to hold it as Luisao took the lead on the fourth bend, and won the race by three lengths. He’ll go
from trap four as a 7-1 longshot to win.
In the fifth trap is Rayvin Neasa, currently sitting at 11-8. It took Neasa a little while to take the lead in the first heat, and he’ll have to worry about Droopys Luisao in this semi-final, but he should
at least earn a spot in the final.
Droopys Luisao will race from trap six with 11-8 odds. Just like Neasa, he should earn a spot in the final, and it should be a good race between Luisao and Neasa. Flip a coin to see which one will win
this semi-final.
Best bet:
Ballymac West at 12-1
Tags: