Step On Lee installed as favourite after Peterborough semis
Step On Lee (2-1) won the opening semi-final of the Peterborough Derby last night in superb style to record his hat-trick at the Fengate track over 420m.
Lee avoided early trouble by pinging to perfection from the traps to gain about a length's advantage over contenders at the first bend. His great use of pace played its part and leading to the strong charge, Lee eventually scoring by almost four lengths to outclass Seamus Cahill’s Fierce Mchugh (8-1) in 25.26sec.
Tearaway John (13-2) finished third in 25.56sec, giving Cahill his second finalist for this Saturday’s £10,000 final and the opportunity to close the gap further in the leaderboard of the Trainers Championship which Mark Wallis currently leads.
Ante-post market fancy Little Sensation (11-8 favourite) was the shock elimination of the night and has only his slow early pace to blame for his downfall.
Wallis was represented by Kinda Handy (5-2 joint favourite) in the second semi, who failed to recapture his second-round form and missed out in qualifying by a short-head to local star Rotar Wing (5-2 joint favourite) who took third place in 25.73sec.
Jacks Back (5-1) was the winner of the second semi-final when clocking 25.51sec. The John Mullins-trained greyhound was the fastest to recover from the early crowding and had enough reserves to hold off Lainedans Flyer who followed by three-quarters of a length.
The ante-post markets have now installed Lee as the evens favourite to go on to win the Derby trophy on Saturday.
Lee has failed to land any victories in his previous 10 races before entering the competition but has managed to adapt well on the course and distance, leaving trainer Elaine Parker hopeful that he can be triumphant.
Draw for Saturday’s final: T1 Tearaway John, T2 Rotar Wing, T3 Step On Lee, T4 Lainedans Flyer, T5 Jacks Back, T6 Fierce Mchugh (m).
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