Produce tilt proving the right decision for Berties

TRAINER Rachel Hill and partner Gordon Baker, the team behind Berties Decision, who lines up in Saturday’s BGBF Produce Stakes final at Swindon, are hopeful of a big run with their homebred Oxford raider.

The strapping 37-kilo son of Signet Denver-Sylvias Chloe has already established himself as one of the leading dogs at his Cowley base, and served notice that he will be no back number in this weekend’s £10,000 Category One clash with an impressive trap-to-line win in last week’s semi-finals.

Baker, who has enjoyed plenty of big-race success alongside his brother Richard over the years, said yesterday: “He’s a homebred dog. We trained the dam and also had the granddam Sylviasmamasaid.

“The dam was actually bred by Pat Guilfoyle, who wanted to use the bloodlines as the dam side goes back to Westmead Olivia from that brilliant Larkhill Jo-Mega Delight litter of Nick Savva’s.

“We had the bitches from the litter and Sylvias Chloe proved fantastic on the track, leading an Oaks final to the last bend at Belle Vue in 2017 and contesting the Irish Oaks for us.

“She hasn’t been straightforward unfortunately when it comes to breeding and after a few misses in the end we decided to go local with her and sent her to Kevin Hutton’s Signet Denver down the road. There was only two in the litter – Berties Decision and his sister Maggies Dream – and they’ve both turned out fast.”

Success in Saturday’s final would be a first major win for licence-holder Hill, and Baker added: “That would be nice should Rachel get the Cat One win on her card, especially with one we’ve bred ourselves. He’s finally started to take to Swindon and is a massive, leggy dog with proper early speed.

“If he can get out from one and things happen behind then he’d have to have a chance – especially if he improves again on the clock. Patrick Janssens’ dog [Romeo Ability] is obviously the one to beat, but we know our boy can run.

“It’s a family affair at the kennels and the kids are involved too. We’ve actually got another litter of pups on the ground after Chloe went to Droopys Addition, so hopefully they’ll turn out decent like these have.”

Betting

BGBF 2 Year Old Produce Stakes - final (general unless stated): 1 Berties Decision 10-1, 2 Eagles Respect 5-1 (bet365), 3 Romeo Ability 2-7, 4 Izzys Tenpin 20-1, 5 Shes One Eighty 25-1, 6 Malcolm Bosh (m) 16-1.

Bet on the dogs with Betano 🐾 Did you know Betano offer greyhounds markets? New customers can bag £30 in free bets when you wager £10. 18+ #GambleAware. Terms Apply.