British Performance of the Week - 16 June 2025

British Performance of the Week

The clock and statistics table tend to dominate this column, sometimes though, they should be confined to the bin. Some 364 days after making his debut at Cork, Droopys Plunge, a dog with a best of 28.57 over course and distance, went from first to fourth and back again, taking full advantage of his plum red draw and won arguably the most exciting Derby final of all time. Less than two and a half lengths covered the field in 28.76. A mention too for the superb sprint win of Shadow Storm whose 15.44 was just nine spots outside the track record. 

Two years ago, Mark Wallis had two runners in the Silver Salver final though neither were good enough to beat eventual winner Flashing Willow. Following Saturday night’s first round, the kennel’s latest two bend star, Ballinakill Liam looks the kennel’s most likely winner of the event since Clondoty Alex in 2017 when completing a six-timer. His 16.03 (-10) run was just one spot outside King Presley’s track record. There were fast wins too over four bends for Millbank Boiler (28.75) with Borna Parachute clocking the sixth fastest staying race of the year in 40.42. 

It was the tale of the ‘Slingshots’ at Sunderland on Friday night. Slingshot Sam manoeuvred his 40.1 kilo (88½ lbs) over the 450m course in 26.79 (+10). But that was still slower than the exciting Irish entry in the ARC Puppy Trophy heats. Pat Buckley’s Slingshot Poppy boasts impressive Irish form including finishing runner-up to Lemon Joey in the Produce Stakes after leading to the run-in at Clonmel. A very classy lady. 

Pretty meagre options on offer at Nottingham this week with a 5-runner 480m open won in 28.77 by Cape Island and a 4-runner 500m open going to Glenhead Sam in 29.91. We’ve gone for the latter as it followed a 29.79 run for Neil Chapman’s brindle. Unfortunately, Swift Kipper was unable to extend her lead as the track’s most prolific winner this year (9) when she was withdrawn (bitten). 

The Swindon selection looked a tough one with the two ‘Southfields’ Duke and Poppy clocking identical times in Tuesday’s 470m opens, 28.03. We would have edged it to Poppy on the basis as the defending POW and completing a six-timer. However, that decision was made redundant when Ivergarry produced the fastest six bend run of 2025 with a 41.35 success. Robert Short’s 32.62 Shelbourne 600 yard winner has a Swindon four bend PB of 27.98. 

Beaten Derby quarter-finalist Newinn Benni was back at Hove on Thursday night and produced the best middle distance run of the week, a 29.11 open race win. It was a third consecutive win at the track for Derek Knight’s 2024 Sussex Cup winner. Litter brother Newinn Oscar was an impressive 30.14 winner over the 515m course. That’s three wins from his last four for Nathan Hunt’s black. 

Newcastle staged three A1 events on Thursday, the quickest winner of which was Coppice Saphire with a 28.55 run. It was a remarkable comeback for the Jimmy Fenwick-trained black who was contesting her first race in four months and just her fourth in eight months. As a pup, Saphire contested a Northern Puppy Derby final and just missed out on a place in the Gymcrack final where her litter brother No Better Feelin finished third. 

Marlfield Diaz had a brief Newcastle career starting in A2 and going as far as finishing fourth in the Steel City Cup for Tom Heilbron. He later ran graded at Sheffield for Barrie Draper and is still doing the business in the third season of his career a little further west. Now with Donna Davy, the blue completed an A2 Valley hat-trick last Wednesday when recording the best 460 time of the week, 28.25. 

There would be ground for making Teaboy Brownie (13.38-225m), Bombay Buck (23.74-400m) or Bright Jewel (47.17-750m) the top Romford performer last week. But in terms of the overall quality of race won, we’ve edged it to 35.02 (575m) winner Hogans Hawk who saw off a field that included Droopys Prefect, Untold Paanga, Cree Bono, Mad For Sterling and Brigadir Brindle. You would expect to see all six in the opening round of the Coronation Stakes on Friday. We can also expect a few Derby hounds to make their six bend debuts. 

The Harlow selection was one of the week’s easiest. Sharon Saberton’s puppy Snazzy Panda just held off the defending POW Soul Destroyer in the week’s best graded race, a competitive A4. It was the fastest ‘415’ of the week and a sixth win in her last eight races for an €1,800 bargain at Kilkenny sales back in February. 

By any standards, the 27.41 run by Pin All In over Yarmouth’s 462 metres was exceptional; Lauren Sawyer’s bitch was just one spot off Back To Black’s fastest time of the year. The point is, like her litter sister New Destiny, the brindle is more comfortable over six bends and has the track’s fastest 659 metre time this year on her card, 40.24. You might even argue, that also like her sister, Pin has improved with age having won each of her last four races at the Caister Road track. 

There were a string of ‘sub28’ runs at Monmore on Saturday night, the quickest of which went to Paradise Sky. It really has been a tale of patience and endurance for trainer Brian Thompson having seen the ex-Galway bitch race on just eight occasions since qualifying a year ago. She has actually won five of them (seven times in the frame) and include a D1 win and a 28.06 PB over the Monmore standard. 

Longacres Lad had a similar tale to tell at Perry Barr. Pat Doocey’s black was contesting his first race since going lame in last December’s Maiden Cup final at Oxford when he saw off an open race sprint field in 15.99. Meanwhile the quickest 480 of the week was recorded by debutant, Billis Hoffa. John Lambe’s pup youngster clocked 28.29 while winning by more than five lengths. 

Who is the youngest pup ever to win a race in Britain? You would do well to find one most junior than On The Wall who was just 15 months and 26 days old when winning second time out at Doncaster back in April. Jimmy Gaskin’s £1,650 purchase from Towcester Sales has continued to improve and clocked a very decent 27.48 for Donny’s 450 metre trip last Monday. Quickest of the week over the 483m trip was Speedy Elm with a 29.56 run on the same card. 

Staying in Yorkshire, Good Knick has been a prolific winner over the Sheffield 480m trip this year with wins in 28.04, 27.95, 27.78 (twice) and 27.73. On Sunday, he was back over the 500m course and clocked the fastest run of the week, 28.90. However, the same card featured a 27.49 run over the 480 metre course from Tom Heilbron’s blue Singalong Rex which is the quickest clock of the year to date. (The fastest in 2024 was Queen Georgia’s 27.27). 

A tougher call altogether at Kinsley. The quickest run of the week was Meghan Sparkle’s 27.93 in A4, though it was recorded on +40 going. Only slightly slower were 28.05 winners Killieford Negri and Swift Aqua. In most cases, as the higher grade winner, we would edge it to Negri as the higher grade winner (A3) and on slightly slower going (+10). However, given Aqua was completing an extremely rare four-timer at the track, we have gone for the lively Lyons little ‘un (24kg). 

While one ‘Killieford’ missed out, there was no disputing Killieford Hanna’s claim at Star Pelaw. On Sunday night, Roy Smith’s 31 kilo white and black was the quickest first round winner in the Alan Dobbin Derby. Although best suited to six bends where her 35.88 is the third fastest ‘590’ of the year, the Ayrshire bred bitch is in the form of her life, her 25.50 win stretches her recent record to four wins and two seconds in her last six outings. 

By his standards, Kevin Hutton had a very low key Saturday night at Oxford with just the one winner. She was a bit special though. Drawn blue with an empty box on her inside, home bred Signet Nayla trapped in front for the first time in her career. From that point the 450 metre open race result was never in doubt. Her winning time of 26.47 was just three spots slower than kennelmate Start The Engine’s FOY. In fact, Hutton hounds have eight of the nine fastest ‘450s’.