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JONATHAN KAY |
Weblog: Our chief correspondent on the topical issues
Bags have created real interest in this new event
JUST loving the inaugural Bags Track Championship and it seems I’m not the only one judging by the interest the opening legs of the North, Midlands and South regions have attracted over the weekend.
These competitions, traditionally, have seen success for those who are most ‘up’ for it and all the indications are that there are a lot of tracks really having a crack at the well-rewarded initiative which will ultimately conclude at Monmore two days before Christmas.
Only Monmore of the three home teams failed to win their leg, although it was something of a given for Romford as hosts in the South region have two runners in each leg and Kinsley will probably be disappointed not to have earned more of an advantage.
Swindon, who triumphed at Monmore, are clearly in good shape but second-placed Hall Green did prettywell there too, Hove will think they have stayed close enough to Romford to ultimately make their overall strength tell, while both Newcastle and Belle Vue put in sterling efforts at Kinsley.
But the beauty of having six legs in the North and Midlands, five in the South, is that there is plenty of time for others to step up to the plate. Poole had a few hard luck stories at Romford on Saturday morning and their home leg could be a real points scoring bonanza, while anyone writing Sheffield off after a disappointing return at Kinsley could be in for a shock.
With £150,000 up for grabs in just a six-weeks period, it wasn’t going to be hard to whip up enthusiasm for the Track Championship but Bags already appear to have come up with a real winner all the same. Variety is the spice of life, and if there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow all the better!
The next potential pot of gold is the Betdaq Premier League which hasits first incarnation on the supporting card at Doncaster’s Yorkshire St Leger supporting card on Wednesday.
Promising some £43,000 in ‘new’ prizemoney over the period of the event, the Premier League has been long in the conception but I have to admit to feeling that the gestation period has been rushed somewhat.
It’s all been rather breathless and organisers really need to get viewers to buy into the team element,which is that which will make this different from the norm unless it really is just about money – perfectly reasonable in itself.
Anyway, with a Sky Sports platform for launch it has the perfect opportunity to make the sort of impact it needs to quickly if it is to attract the kind of backing which will see it thrive and flourish into the future.
Feature event on Wednesday is the Yorkshire Leger final which is something of a re-run of last month’s Great North Run decider at Newcastle. Not only do the first four home reoppose, but as Sky’s Darrell Williams pointed out, they go from the same traps!
Lonely Boy was successful on Tyneside and a follow-up would put his trainer Charlie Lister right back in the title mix, but he is an erratic trapper so the short run to the bend could be an issue and who is to say that we won’t see a fairytale end to the career of Droopys Arshavin, whose connections are set to retire him after the race?
Looking back instead of forward, Lister’s Taylors Sky looks to have nailed down Greyhound of the Year honours after victory in the Primus Telecom Derby at Henlow gave him a third Category One of the campaign including, of course, the williamhill.com Derby, but Mark Wallis and Chris Allsopp are still going at it hammer and tongs in the Trainers’ Championship with just 14 points between them as I write on Sunday evening.
Either side of the Irish Sea, Milldean Panther and Eden Star signed off for the year with victories, in Eden Star’s case a fourth title as he lasted home in the Betfair Laurels at Belle Vue. Interestingly, reports in Ireland have been suggesting that connections of Milldean Panther would not be averse to a couple of meetings with Eden Star, one at Shelbourne and one at Wimbledon, nextyear so watch this space.
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