Posts tagged william hill all england cup
Boherna Best’s future in hands of vet
Mar 10th
Boherna Best, a current 66-1 shot at taking this year’s William Hill-sponsored Derby may not even be able to take part in the competition due to an injury he has picked up from a trial run at Sheffield on Monday night.
The Dual All England Champion has not set foot on the tracks since December, where he took third in the final of the ibetx.com St Mungo Cup.
Trainer Barrie Draper was preparing Best for next month’s Blue Riband at Hall Green, but the chances of him actually running now are uncertain.
Best was looking fairly normal as he cleared kennelmate Magna Oliver in the opening of the 280m workout on Monday. The problem only occurred after the second bend, which resulted in Oliver beating Best by four lengths, at which point it was clear that something was wrong.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything broken and more than likely it’s a muscle injury,” said Draper in the Racing Post, “but we won’t know for sure until he’s been checked out thoroughly.
“It’s a real blow because everything had been going well with him.”
The extent of the injury can only be determined by the vet, but whether the news is ultimately good or less encouraging, it will definitely create a set-back to his journey for the Derby, should he make it.
His 2009 campaign wasn’t as great as 2008, although he did manage to retain the All England Cup title, an event in which Ballymac Ruso was the joint-market-favourite. Ruso, also a great dog for the tracks, sadly faced an early exit from the sport himself due to an injury.
Owner Anthony Rhodes has already declared he will retire Best if the injury means he will be out for a lengthy period. In which case he may possibly join Ruso at stud.
Bateson retains her title at Shawfield
Dec 6th
Ardkill Tunoco (5-2) credited trainer Julie Bateson with back to-back wins of the ibetx.com St Mungo Cup. Tunoco produced a tremendous performance to reverse Boherna Best’s All England Cup form in Saturday’s £2,500 final on the 480m track at Shawfield.
Bateson always looked like retaining the title once Tunoco had flashed out of the traps and got first run on Best, who gave chase but never threatened to catch up with the leader.
Tunoco ultimately scored by more than five lengths from kennelmate Target Gold, who stayed on late to pass the All England Cup champion for second.
The winning time of 29.36 sec reflected a surprisingly slow track. Bateson said: “I don’t think the slow going affected the outcome, although I suppose it might have helped Target Gold get second as he’s a really strong runner.”
“We’ve always said Ardkill Tunoco is very good when he gets it right and that’s just what he did this time.”
“The St Mungo is a fantastic old competition with a brilliant trophy and one I’ve always targeted since I got a licence. A lot of credit and thanks are due to ibetx for stepping in at short notice to ensure it went ahead this year.”
B.Shah
Ballymac Ruso eclipsed before semis
Nov 20th
The Betfred Eclipse held at Nottingham kick-started on Monday over six heats, which saw the qualification of 18 dogs to the semi-finals this Saturday. Ballymac Ruso had secured his spot here by coming in third in the sixth heat, in a time of 30.33secs.
Ruso, a great runner with an impressive track record, had started as joint favourite to win the William Hill All England Cup. The hound started well with a modest break, yet could only come in fourth.
The Matt Dartnall-trained dog had showed no sign of being in an unfit condition on Monday, but following the qualification there was an official announcement that the dog was lame, and has been withdrawn from the semi-final, leaving trap three vacant.
Ballymac’s absence obviously has a substantial effect in the third heat of the semis, where the dog was joint favourite alongside Romeo Maldini. This should open things up for either Lenson Bolt (12-1) or Head Iton Ellis (33-1) who have previously displayed to the public their ability to produce results. Either dog is capable of stunning the crowd, like Capel Smiley did at 33-1 when he took The Carlsberg Yorkshire St Leger on Tuesday.
Dalcash Scolari may possibly take the vacant trap at the semi-final, though no final decision has yet been taken.
B. Shah