Recap: Henlow Derby Round 2
Henlow hosted four heats of the second round of the Primus Telecom Henlow Derby on Sunday. The top three dogs from each heat advanced to Thursday’s semi-final.
Primus Telecom Henlow Derby Round 2 Heat 1
Westmead Guru won the first heat by 1¾ lengths over Total Reality with a time of 27.53 seconds, the best time of the four heats. Guru, the 5-4 race favourite, was quick from the traps, took the early lead, and held it for the entire race. Reality didn’t
get off to nearly as good a start as Guru, but a strong finish allowed him to keep it as close as it was.
In third place, with another strong finish, was Bim Bam Boozle, the longest shot of the race with 8-1 odds. Both Reality and Boozle had to recover from slow starts to pass Jogadusc Ace and Ten Large Down, who finished in fourth and fifth respectively after
good starts. In last place was Ministry Magic.
Primus Telecom Henlow Derby Round 2 Heat 2
Taking the second heat with a time of 27.66 was Parkgarrif Power, an 8-1 longshot. Power got off to a very good start, and beat trainer Seamus Cahill’s, Sparklee Bernie, by 1¾ lengths. In third was one of the 5-2 co-favourites, Destroy The Camp.
Lethal Freds, another of Cahill’s hounds and another co-favourite , took fourth spot, and another 8-1 longshot, Westmead Palace, took fifth. The other co-favourite, Cabra Champ, was bumped on the first bend, and was unable to finish the race.
Primus Telecom Henlow Derby Round 2 Heat 3
The third heat saw only five entrants, but the 7-4 race favourite, King Lee, was still unable to finish in the top three. Lee fell back after a rough first turn, and wasn’t able to recover, he finished in fifth. Instead it was Westmead Melanie winning the
race with a time of 27.98. Melanie managed to pass Uncertain Step as they neared the finish line to win by a length over the 8-1 longshot.
Taking third was Bright Redcliff, who got off to the best start of the group, but lost the chance to lead on the first bend as the hounds fought aggressively for position. In fourth was Ocean Star.
Primus Telecom Henlow Derby Round 2 Heat 4
Star Gaze won the fourth heat by a shoulder over Zupjack with a time of 27.87. Zupjack took the early lead, and held it for most of the race, but Gaze was able to get in front as they closed in on the finish line. The other qualifier from this heat was 4-6
race favourite, Westmead Osprey.
In fourth was Lainedans Flyer, and in fifth was Jey Tee Hawk. Hondo Willy was pulled from the race and not replaced.
The semi-final cards look like this:
Semi-final 1: 1 Westmead Melanie, 2 Westmead Osprey, 3 Bim Bam Boozle, 4 Uncertain Step, 5 Destroy The Camp, 6 Bright Redcliff.
Semi-final 2: 1 Total Reality, 2 Zupjack, 3 Star Gaze, 4 Westmead Guru, 5 Parkgarrif Power, 6 Sparklee Bernie.
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