Thursday afternoon open races at Swindon are unearthing a tranche of talent. None more so than John Campbell’s Sept-21 black dog, Bluejig Buzz and Liz/Rab Mcnair’s King Memphis.
In competitive races over the Blunsdon 476m, trainers have the opportunity to pitch their up-and-coming stars against some established quality greyhounds on a fast and galloping track, not too dissimilar to Towcester.
So it was that yesterday, an hour before Derby third rounders, Goldies Perryman and Cuckoo Fund went head to head in the 4.54, Bluejig Buzz was catching the eye on the Wiltshire oval, winning stylishly in a best of the day 28.05 for John Campbell.
Buzz, a middle runner, was handed an awkward draw in the orange jacket yesterday. After boxing smartly, he set off in pursuit of Liz Mcnair’s highly rated puppy, King Memphis, who has already claimed the scalp of Droopy’s Clue, when finishing second at Towcester in a lively Open in late June.
Yesterday, odds-on favourite, King Memphis, pinged the lids in the blue jacket and looked for all the world like the winner. He remained in control on the bunny but couldn’t shake off the attentions of Buzz. Memphis led until the run-in, before being picked off near the line by the fast finishing Bluejig Buzz.
Of King Memphis, trainer Rab Mcnair said, “Going forward, he will be going for the BGBF Produce Stakes at Swindon.”
“Yesterday’s run was a learning experience as it was only his second race, but he is going in the right direction.”
It’s a race in which the Mcnair’s have had plenty of success in recent years. King Elvis, in 2017, King Sheeran in 2019, and Queen Jessiej in 2020, have all tasted glory in Swindon’s highly competitive competition for 2-year-olds.
Bluejig Buzz might just be ahead of King Memphis when it comes to the 500 standard distance. Towcester and Hove may well suit Bluejig Buzz even better than Swindon already, and it will be interesting to see what happens with him next.
The two may well go head to head again for the Produce Stakes in September. It could be a great marker for just how far both have come.