Undoubted ability shines through as Romeo proves a Plate smasher

ROMEO ABILITY gained a much deserved moment in the spotlight at Towcester on Saturday night as he dominated the PricedUp.Bet Derby Plate final.

The Patrick Janssens-trained star has reached six Category One finals without success, but was able to cheat a tricky draw out in trap six for the all-railer decider with a slick exit and fine all-round speed.

Ria Tillet, kennelhand and daughter to trainer Patrick Janssens, said: “He deserved that. We were a little worried about the draw and whether he’d trap as he has never raced that wide before. But he paced up well and won nicely.”

Race of the night was the PGR Consolation Derby Invitation. It came down to a match between superbitches Scooby The Lady and Strike It Skye after early crowding between the rest of the field, and it proved a cracker.

Scooby The Lady burst clear – something Richard Rees’s ace failed to do in her Derby semi – but Strike It Skye slipped round on her tail.

The pair went hammer and tong down the back, but Mark  the Wallis-trained powerhouse challenged around the outside off the last and ground down her rival near the line to score by just under a length in 28.48sec.

Hove handler Belinda Green reigned supreme early on, winning the first two races and later completing a treble.

PGR Oaks third Raebella Bullet demolished her Duralock Group Invitation Trophy rivals in the opener, making all over 500m in 28.52sec.

Kennelmate Bikini Bullet then went even quicker a race later, making all in 28.42sec and cruising home by just under four lengths.

Green’s Bombshell Bullet capped a great night for the kennel when riding a bump at the corner before asserting in the Elite Electrical & Automation Bitches Trophy final.

Odds-on favourite Blackstone Opera was unable to hold her to the bend and the winner won nicely in 28.85sec.

Green, who in recent years has trained a number of talented bitches, said of her team: “You can’t beat a bit of girl power! All the dogs ran incredibly well tonight, including Teddie who did well in the 712m stayers’ race.

“All of our bitches are classy and strong. Bombshell Bullet is still relatively lightly raced and we like her a lot.

“To have three winners on a night like tonight is brilliant.”

On what was effectively a dash to the first bend for the Star-Pelaw.com Invitation Trophy, Kevin Hutton’s prolific Start The Engine (26.31sec) lowered the 460m track record in justifying significant market support.

Hutton said: “He’s a phenomenal little dog and has been great for his owner, who bought him at just three months off the Greyhound Data website. It’s great to have a winner on Derby final night.”

Naochra, the 2025 Northern Flat champion justified cramped odds (2-7) to power away from his rivals in the Derek Burridge Trophies Seniors, clocking 28.89sec as he cruised home by more than eight lengths.

Hutton doubled up in the race after with his Tooreen Rose gaining first run on the well-backed Ballymac Iroko in the StarSportsBet.co.uk Invitation Stayers Trophy over 712m. Her delighted handler added: “She has two ways of running, but when she traps she’s very hard to beat and thankfully she got it right tonight.

“She’ll have a break before being part of our team for Trainers’ Judgement Night.”

Central Park trainer Maxine Locke held a strong hand in the PCS Legal Puppy Trophy final and her Annadown Chip (28.58sec) led home litter-brother Annadown Warrior for a kennel one-two over the 500m trip.

Ricky Holloway’s Rapido Benny returned to winning ways in style to land the GreyhoundTrader.com Stakes final, fending off a late challenge from Uncle Freddie by just under a length in 28.97sec.

There was an upset in the Time Nutrition Sprint Trophy decider over 270m after odds-on favourite Shadow Storm missed the break.

There was no such hiccup, however, for multiple big-race finalist Bockos Buster (15.47sec) as he came away quickly and landed a big-race success for handler Kevin Boon.

Sean Parker’s Droopys Flare (42.72sec) sauntered to a seven-length victory in the GreatBet Challenge Trophy decider over 712m, much to the delight of the Sheffield trainer who confirmed that the Regency at Hove is a likely target for his St Leger runner-up.

Kelly Hodson’s Romeo Force (28.88sec) overcame a tricky draw to land the BGBF Truframe Champion stakes final over 500m from an unfamiliar trap six, prompting Towcester racing manager Danny Rayment to say: “It seems notable that two British-bred runners Romeo Ability for Patrick Janssens and Romeo Force for Kelly Hodson won all-unseeded finals when coping with trap-six draws.”

A second track record fell on the night in the 942m finale.

Paul Young’s Droopys Rated, winner of the TV Trophy a few weeks earlier, was sent off the 1-12 favourite for the Fox Sports Dorando Marathon and duly crushed his rivals by just under 16 lengths in 56.85sec after leading at the first bend in a dominant display.

Easy fix after overnight sabotage attempt on Derby

AN effort to sabotage Towcester’s hare mechanism was foiled when a check discovered building material had been laid in an area down the back straight rail near the sprint traps, writes Jim Cremin.

The attempt is believed to have taken place in the early hours of Saturday morning, followed by a tidy-up intended to remove any obvious evidence. The culprits, believed to be animal‑rights activists, had evaded overnight security.

However, it proved a simple fix for the Towcester staff.

Scott Sealey, uncle of groundsman Josh Sealey, had been engaged by Towcester to make a routine review of the hare mechanism and on Saturday morning he arrived and immediately spotted the tampering.

“I’m a bit like a Swiss Army Knife and can fix anything,” he joked during the Derby meeting. “We got on with it. By noon everything was good.”

Later, around a dozen protesters demonstrated at the main entrance, attempting to disrupt traffic before police were called. Officials said the group appeared “unusually cross”.

The evening’s racing then proceeded without incident. Future security is expected to be reviewed.

Petition against Wales ban

A PETITION was distributed at Towcester on Saturday night urging all greyhound racing fans to sign a new petition to challenge the racing ban that will be implemented in Wales, writes Jim Cremin.

Terry Hibbert of Caerphilly was among a party from Wales who handed out leaflets that called for the new Welsh government to think again over the Labour-imposed legislation, pointing to unfairly inaccurate information that had been cited.

The petition is at: petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/246936

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