Owlerton Stadium trainer Elaine Parker will target home spoils on Tuesday when her Droopys Knox [trap 1] and Russanda Brax (m)[trap 6] contest the much-anticipated 21:08 £10,000 Pinpoint Health and Homecare ‘3 Steps to Victory’ final [660m Flat] on a stellar card.
General Manager, David Perry, said: “I would firstly like to extend a warm welcome to our sponsor and guests, Pinpoint, because without them tonight would not have been possible.
“Tonight we get the opportunity to see some of the best greyhounds in training here at Sheffield. Not only do we have crowd favouriteRoxholme Dream aiming to go unbeaten in the 3 Steps final – but we have two of the most talked about races in a long time”
He added: “Tonight’s racing has brought together trainers and owners from afar and with it an atmosphere and Open race card we can be proud of. I hope you all get to enjoy the excellent racing and that once again Sheffield can put on a show for you.”
Droopys Knox had to play second fiddle to the sizzling early pace shown by her kennel-mate from trap 3 when they clashed on April 1 but battled on bravely to be beaten a neck.
Russanda Brax (m) turned on the boosters to record a split of 4.18s and also showed a bit of track-craft when denying Blonde Razor the third bend at what proved to be a critical juncture.
The son of Black Shaw and Ballymac Floss registered a winning time of 29.11s and a hat-trick here will see connections walk away with an improved prize pot.
The middle seed is handed the black and white jacket for this assignment but supporters should note he beat trap 5 Farneys Cookie (m) from the same location on March 3, although Kevin Boon’s runner did reverse that trend seven days later and both those efforts came over 500m Flat.
Roxholme Dream [trap 3] and Elwick Glory [trap 2] put up a compelling scrap to the first corner when both recording 4.29s but it wasHayley Keightley’s ante-post favourite who turned in a joint-fastest semi-final time of 28.96s to get the job done.
The 2014 Gold Cup winner Viking Jack finished a creditable fourth given that he stumbled at trap rise and was a good six lengths detached from the field.
Roxholme Dream has been sent off 8/11f and 4/6f for both her wins in South Yorkshire and there is not likely to be much more value about the ‘2014 Stayer and Bitch Of The Year‘ come showdown.
Farneys Cookie (m) and Coolavanny Fish [trap 4] for Charlie Lister will also meet again after a breathless clash on semi-finals night.
Boon’s greyhound survived a knock at the first corner to show stunning pace down the far side to eventually win by two-and-a-half lengths and equal Roxholme Dream’s time of 28.96s.
FINAL DRAW:
T1 Droopys Knox
T2 Elwick Glory
T3 Roxholme Dream
T4 Coolavanny Fish
T5 Farneys Cookie (m)
T6 Russanda Brax (m)
Owlerton Stadium also welcomes sponsored race action at 19:26 with the MJK Sporting Events An Evening With AP McCoy @ Elland Road Sprint (OR) 280m in a race that has all the makings of a classic given the pedigree of these two-bend specialists.
Perry added: “This race sees undoubtedly the six best sprinters in training at the moment and it has certainly got people talking and divided about which greyhound will win.”
Keightley has Target Harris in trap 1 chasing a five-timer off the back of landing a brace of consecutive wins at Sittingbourne then Hove.
United Leeds in trap 2 for Sheffield trainer Barrie Draper recently ended an 11-race winning sequence by the brilliant Walshes Hill (m)and franked that form with an another success on March 31 by two-and-a-half lengths over Jimmy Wright’s dog.
National Sprint champion Geelo Vegas (m) for Carl Perry suffered badly at the first corner in the same race and has not won atOwlerton Stadium since August 6 last year but should not be dismissed, while Conna Trigger (m) for Kelly Macari and Sidarian Bullet (m) complete a strong field.
On the 20:51 William Hill Greyhound Derby “Win And You’re In” Trial Stakes (OR) 480m, Perry said: “This race sees last year’s runner-up in Droopys Ward and four Category One winners and multiple Category One finalists and favourite in Pinpoint Maxi – if this was the Derby final I don’t think anyone would complain.”
