One of the most high quality meetings of the year takes place at Newcastle this evening, with finals of four major competitions, the highlight being the All England Cup at 9:19pm. The whole cards is sponsored by bookmaker William Hill, and eight of the races are going to be shown live on Sky Sports 1.
The betting on the All England Cup final is very tight indeed, with the bookies unable to split the front four in the market, and arguably only the five dog Bua Farah can be ruled out with any kind of confidence. Kelly Macari’s Pinpoint Maxi was surprisingly turned over in the semi finals on Saturday night by local runner Maum Legend. There didn’t appear to be any excuses for the favourite, but tonight’s draw may give Pinpoint a chance to reverse that form. Jimmy Wright’s Maum Legend has been allocated trap six, which will less than ideal, with Pinpoint Maxi getting the plum draw in the one box. That being said, Maum Legend only has Bua Farah on his inside, and the striped jacket may well keep out of trouble on that basis.
Although he was beaten by Eric Court in the semis, I’m going with Newinn Yolo in trap three to land the spoils here. Eric Court trapped unbelievably well on Saturday and while we could see a repeat of that from the Doncaster raider, I think it’s more likely that Newinn can gain revenge tonight. Pat Rosney’s greyhound has just about the most consistent numbers in the field, and clocked a 28.17 here in a trial last month. The 4/1 on offer with sponsors William Hill looks rather generous to me.
Back Trap 3 Newinn Yolo at 4/1 with William Hill
19:34
This looks like it should be a match between the four and five dogs, with the bookies going odds on about Diane Henry’s Thirteen Bags. This dog’s run here on the 4th of October was obviously very impressive, as he scored in a time of 28.59. He was however beaten into third place over course and distance last week, and I’m not sure I want to be taking odds on tonight. At 7/4, I probably would not have been backing Paul Young’s Millwards Davy this evening, but I can’t let the five dog go unsupported at the 11/4 available with Betfred. This greyhound also put on a show in the Puppy Derby heats here at the start of the month, scoring by just under seven lengths. Definitely the value bet of the night.
Back Trap 5 Millwards Davy at 11/4 with Betfred
19:49
Although he’ll need to step up on his trial here last week, Kelly Macari’s Steel City Cup runner-up Conna Trigger should be too classy for these rivals. This greyhound ran three excellent races during the recent competition at Sheffield and I’m somewhat surprised that 2/1 is available with Ladbrokes. I’m not expecting that price to last. The danger will obviously be last year’s All England Cup winner Calzaghe Davy, but Ted Soppitt’s greyhound needs to bounce back from a very disappointing effort last time out.
Back Trap 4 Conna Trigger at 2/1 with Ladbrokes
20:34
According to the bookies, this Angel of the North final would appear to be at the mercy of Paul Young’s bitch Jaytee China, with even money the price generally available. All credit to William Hill, who are laying 6/4 this morning but I’m going to the the 5/1 Betfair are offering about Jimmy Wright’s Greenhill Beauty. A consistent sort, Greenhill was turned over in the heats at the weekend, finishing second behind Snow Wizard, but she should get the run of the race this evening coming out of trap one. Jaytee China obviously has strong claims, but I feel the local runner can cause a bit of an upset.
Back Trap 1 Greenhill Beauty at 5/1 with Betfair