JONATHAN HOBBS: Our top greyhounds tipster Jonathan Hobbs looks ahead to some mid-morning action on Saturday at Crayford.
EYES down for an early start at Crayford on Saturday as the Ladbrokes Golden Jacket returns to its traditional matinee slot, with the semi-finals of the £17,500 event supported by heats of the Peter Bussey Memorial Trophy.
It makes for a cracking card at the Kent venue – all the action is live on SIS – and kick-starts a fantastic day’s action given the Coral Winter Derby Final takes place at Hove later – but let’s concentrate for now on the Crayford action.
Crayford
11.06: Heat one of the Peter Bussey Memorial where Savana Dare, trained by Jason Bloomfield, could surprise defending champion Droopys Noodle. The black jacket has run well here before and might be sharper for some Harlow action recently.
Play: Savana Dare
11.21: The first semi-final of the Ladbrokes Golden Jacket and a crackerjack affair which sees Antigua Fire and Sheldan, both impressive winners last week, do battle – both have decent draws as the bookends in this semi. However Sharon Thompson’s Sparta Master could raise his game after last week. He showed good pace then and will come forward after a recent break – importantly he could get first run on his rivals.
Play: Sparta Master
11.52: Heat two of the Peter Bussey Memorial and a great battle between Young Princess and Perrys Choice looks on the cards. The former is the Romford Puppy Cup champ and could kick on, but the all-round speed of Michelle Brown’s runner might be too much.
Play: Perrys Choice
12.06: Patrick Janssens has a huge hand in this second semi-final of the Ladbrokes Golden Jacket courtesy of Skilful Sandie and Affleck Bolt. The former can improve after last week’s defeat, but the latter showed pace behind Roxholme Poppy in the heats and might be able to boss proceedings. Respect here for Champion Stakes winner Aayamza Express and top local Beechgrove Bell. Competitive!
Play: Affleck Bolt
12.36: The third and final heat of the Peter Bussey Memorial might go to local hope Crossfield Vince. The Julie Luckhurst-trained racer is a regular winner and has looked good in comeback trials. He could run fresh and fast to beat Slippy Colm.
Play: Crossfield Vince
12.54: The third and final semi-final of the Ladbrokes Golden Jacket and Roxholme Poppy looked good last week. She starts and stays well and Hayley Keightley’s bitch goes particularly well from stripes – improvement is likely, too, after a recent break. Shotgun Bullet thrilled all greyhound fans last week and it would be great to see the Hove raider in another Golden Jacket final. Antigua Rum continues to run well and looks a threat to all.
Play: Roxholme Poppy
The remainder of the card includes an 874m marathon where hotpot Micks Little Gem (1.07) should oblige for Michelle Brown, while kennelmate Slippy Maggie (1.21) would be a popular winner after her injury break and did show plenty in behind last week.
Good luck everyone.
