Round Two of the £10,000 Category One bet365 Challenge Cup begins at Oxford Stadium on Friday night following an entertaining opening block of heats just a week ago.
Five of the 23 greyhounds declared to run this evening broke the 40-second barrier during Round One – the equivalent of 36.35mph. Tonight’s four Round Two heats are part of an 11-race all-open card starting at 6.35pm.
We take a closer look at the key races below.
Heat One, 7.11pm: Muxton Lottie, Russmur Queen, Forest Roanna, Liquid Lunch, Free Style Sue, Cyclone Sydney.
Forest Roanna caused a huge upset in Round One when beating 1/6f Havana Lover – the competition’s ante-post favourite – by a length-and-a-half in Heat Five priced 18/1.
Kevin Hutton’s bitch by 2018 English Greyhound Derby winner Dorotas Wildcat benefitted from a clear run to clock 40.02. She’ll be fortunate to avoid trouble in this race, though, with fast-starting Muxton Lottie in trap one.
The interesting greyhound here is Tom Levers’ Free Style Sue who took well to the 650m trip when winning our final qualifying heat last week.
Selection – Muxton Lottie.
Heat Two, 7.46pm: Bubbly Crystal, Work The Head, MakeIt Bombay, Vacant, Miss Big Pants, Silverspring Ria.
Miss Big Pants pulled out all the stops in Round One when winning Heat Seven comfortably in 39.86 after showing fantastic early pace.
It was John Mullins’ bitch’s first visit to Oxford, so she is no doubt to improve for the run and could prove the one to beat in this contest. Bubbly Crystal in trap one is an interesting contender and will hope to lay down a challenge late on.
Mustang Diva reported lame earlier this week so trap four will be vacant.
Selection – Miss Big Pants
Heat Three, 8.25pm: Kid Haaland, Droopys Garden, Chelms Chris, Savana Ruinart, Gizmo Smasher, Havana Lover.
Heat Three on paper is the race of the night.
It’s where track record holder and recent Gold Collar Champion Savana Ruinart meets ante-post favourite Havana Lover plus Round One winner Droopys Garden. That’s without mentioning the rest!
It was impossible not to be impressed by Savana Ruinart’s Oxford debut last week. She stormed to a nine-length victory and smashed the track record (39.84). Droopys Garden and Gizmo Smasher both broke the 40-second barrier when qualifying last week and will want to progress.
Then we have Havana Lover, who hit trouble in Round One and did well to qualify after running half the race in fourth. A tricky one to call!
Selection – Savana Ruinart.
Heat Four, 9.04pm: Wota Swell Party, Fifty Nine, Night Time Danny, Chelms Cub, Antigua Sugar, Frostys Ten.
Fifty Nine showed brilliant early pace to win Heat Three last week and has been gifted another favourable draw for Round Two.
The interesting greyhound here is Antigua Sugar, whose 40.11 effort last week caught the eye of many. Mark Wallis’ bitch should improve for that run while connections of Chelms Cub will be hoping he can break quicker this week to book a semi-final spot.
Selection – Antigua Sugar.
Racing begins at 6.35pm tonight and tickets are available online via www.oxford-stadium.co.uk from just £9. We hope to see you then!
