Up For Sam (7-4 favourite) replicated the speed of Usain Bolt in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when he produced arguably the best run of the year to date in heat two of the Stadium Bookmakers Trafalgar Cup at Oxford last night.
The Carol Weatherall-trained youngster not only summoned the pace of Bolt but also smashed the record on the 450m track, clocking a whopping 26.20secs, which is 0.17seconds inside the previous track record set by Paramount Silver in 2005.
Sam will now go into next Thursday's final, in which the winner will be awarded a prize sum of £1,000 but unfortunately no gold medal. Still, he has marked his name in the record books.
Ardmayle Hawk (3-1) trapped well from trap one, and at one point looked close to making a late impression, but it was Sam who prevailed by almost six lengths. Hawk clocked a time of 26.67secs and took second - will he take his vengeance in next week’s final?
Nick Colton’s Jaytee Ray (8-1) took first in heat one in 27.07secs, having used all his reserves to catch up with the long-time leader Millwards Siren (5-1). Siren failed to hold off Ray and was also outran by market favourite Stand Printer (11-10) who took second in 27.15secs.
The last heat of the night was a disappointment for punters, as Forrest May (5-4 favourite) looked doubtful in paying any dividends. The attention was all on Blonde Button (9-4), who trapped terrifically well from trap one and took first.
The dog is in good form, having recently won a minor competition at Romford last month. The final qualifier through to next week’s final was Autumn Recession (10-1), who clocked 27.14secs, 0.24secs short of first.
Draw for next Thursday's £1,000 final: 1 Autumn Recession, 2 Blonde Button, 3 Ardmayle Hawk, 4 Up For Sam, 5 Jaytee Ray, 6 Stans Printer (w).
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