Stan James Laurels preview: semi-final two
The second round of the Stan James Laurels will begin Thursday night at Belle Vue. Three semi-finals will set the stage for the final. Last week there was a lot of contact between the hounds. Mill Pinpoint
collided with Jordansoilutions in heat three, both fell, and failed to reach the second round. It should be a little less dramatic this week, but only time will tell for sure. The top two hounds from these heats advance.
Stan James Laurels 2nd semi-final
Bucks Yahoo had a slight collision on the third bend of his first round heat. The result was a third place finish, 9¼ lengths behind Jolly Poacher. He’s drawn some strong competitors in this semi-final,
but he’s still the favourite to win the Laurels, and it will probably take another collision to keep him out of the final. Yahoo will race from trap one.
Little Gaffer will go from trap two. He finished in third in his first round heat, and has a very good track record of finishing in the top three in general. Unfortunately for Gaffer, he’s going to be
a long shot in this race with the best of the remaining hounds all facing off against one another in the second semi-final. He’ll do well to avoid last place in this one.
Judicial Pause will go from trap three. He took second in his race last week, losing to Fatboyz Romeo. He had won four of five, and three straight in his races previous to entering the Stan James Laurels.
While Yahoo and Ballymac Ace are going to be favoured to finish in the top two spots, Pause could very easily find himself knocking one of those two off to claim a spot of his own in the final.
In trap four is Ballymac Ace, one of the top entrants in the Laurels. Ace raced against Yahoo on 20 August and finished in last place, then lost to Jordansoilutions six days later. Other than those two
races, Ace has had a fantastic 2010 with 16 victories, including a stretch of eight straight wins that went from May to June. It’s going to be an exciting heat has Yahoo and Ace go head-to-head.
Reluctant drew trap five, but is a middle runner. He has not had won from trap five since October 2009. The trap draw might not normally be such a significant consideration for Reluctant, but with the
group he’s racing against he’s going to need all the help he can get. Drawing a wide trap is not a good way for him to start. At least he doesn’t need to worry about Fear Zafonic. Reluctant lost to Fear in three straight races in the E.A. Derby earlier in
September.
Filling in the sixth trap is Yahoo Jamie. Jamie was one of the hounds that took advantage of the collision between Pinpoint and Jordansoilutions. He was in fifth place at the time of the fall and probably
would have missed the semi-final if the collision had not occurred. Normally a middle runner, Jamie has not had much experience from the sixth trap, but he did win the last time he drew the trap. Still, the competition is tough and Jamie is going to have a
difficult time finishing in the top two. Expect a bottom three finish.
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