Dartnall's Blue Bee lands Ladbrokes Golden Jacket

Blue Bee: Winner of the Ladbrokes Golden Jacket final at Crayford

  PICTURE: STEVE NASH  

CRAYFORD staged a top class programme on Saturday morning headlined by The £15,000 Ladbrokes Golden Jacket final which was won in gutsy all-the-way fashion by Blue Bee (7-2).
Matt Dartnall's bitch was able to secure a first bend lead and then hold a persistent challenge from Blackrose Monach.
The key moment of the race may have been the fifth bend when Eric Cantillon's dog went for a run up the fence but, not for the first time, had the door shut in his face by the gutsy and determined winner who scored by half-a-length in 45.95sec.

The Peter Bussey Memorial Trophy Final (540m) was an all-railer line-up but that didn't trouble Aero Joker (5-1) who was potentially badly drawn out in the six-box.
Mark Wallis's bitch produced an absolute flier and, following some inevitable scrimmaging behind, was able to dominate this £2,000 decider from pillar to post to record a speedy 33.71sec.

The Ladbrokes Golden Jacket Invitation Stakes at 11.23, which was for runners that had been eliminated from the earlier rounds of the Jacket itself, produced a well-deserved success for Bubbly Swallow (6-4F).
Nick Savva's bitch, who narrowly failed to qualify for the big 'un when a close-up third to Lottes Girl and Farley Zach, caught the trail-blazing Coolavanny Fairy at the seventh bend and stayed on well to score going away in 45.71sec - three lengths faster than Blue Bee's run in the Golden Jacket final.

The Chief Ramsbottom Hurdle (540m) at 12.08 was emphatically won by the 5-4 favourite Billis Renegade.
Jason Foster's September 08 whelp was only second to the first bend but was able to surge clear when the fast starting Zenas Romario moved off very wide and it was more or less plain sailing therefter as he went on to beat Swift Defender by two lengths in 34.58sec.

A classy field assembled for the Ladbrokes Marathon (874m) at 12.57 and victory went to Paul Young's Millward's Swaby (3-1). Eliminated when odds-on in the heats of the Golden Jacket, the April 09 daughter of Westmead Hawk led with a circuit to go and held the late rally from Powerfast Pigeon (beaten one length) in a new track record of 56.00sec.