Saleen Tango dances her way to victory in A3 race at Oxford
There are many things that a greyhound race can be compared to, and one of them is a dancing competition. The person who dances the best wins the competition, and the same can be said
about a greyhound.
Saleen Tango had all the right moves in one of two 450m A3 races on the schedule at the Oxford Greyhound Stadium on Friday 19 November, earning a big win as a result.
Starting from trap one, Saleen Tango (5-1) ran well to the middle, and soon led. She was the first dog to cross the finish line, doing so in 27.74. Dance Charmaine (3-1) moved slowly away
from the pack and ran on to take second place in 27.88. She was 1¾ lengths behind the winner.
Guus Step, the 5-2 favourite, was the third-place finisher. He also moved slowly away, running on to a 28.00 finish that placed him 1½ lengths out of second place. Whos Topper (5-1) started
the race by moving very slowly away. He proceeded to go wide and crowd first, missing the top three by 1½ lengths with his 28.12 finish.
Fifth place went to Penny Simpson (8-1), who crowded first. However, he matched Whos Topper’s time of 28.12 and finished a shoulder’s length behind him. It was too little, too late for
Little Too Soon (3-1), as her early pace could not propel her into the top three. She would go on to finish last after crowding first and third, losing 3¼ lengths in the process.
The A2 race that followed featured a pair of 9-4 joint favourites in Penny Castro and Harlequin Haley. However, neither of these dogs emerged victorious, as that honour went to Nightfire
Ebony (4-1). A strong start from trap four allowed her to finish well, with a time of 27.73 to show for it. Pennys Castro claimed second place after challenging and slightly crowding at the third bend. He ran on to match Nightfire Ebony’s time of 27.73, and
was just a shoulder’s length behind her.
Finishing third was Ballyhoe Bertie (3-1), who moved slowly away, went wide, and finished well. His time of 27.76 placed him a neck out of the number two spot. Veggie Man (6-1) held an
early pace and led first, but lost 3¼ lengths after he crowded the run in. He would miss a top-three finish by a shoulder with his time of 27.76.
Harlequin Haley, the other joint favourite, moved slowly away from the pack. She went on to go wide and crowd fourth, earning fifth place with her time of 28.02. She was 3¼ lengths out
of fourth place. Rounding out the pack was last-place finisher Ashcroft Colin (5-1). He moved quickly away, but crowded second and fourth, finishing a shoulder behind Harlequin Haley in 28.03.
Oxford Greyhound Stadium will hold its next race meeting on Saturday 20 November. The first race of the evening will begin at 19:25.
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