Despite the conspicuous absence of a certain Space Jet, the semi-finals of the St Leger and Birmingham Cup look certain to provide another evening of high drama at Perry Barr tonight.
The first of the semis (at 18:59), could just be the hottest ticket in town. The two Ballymac bitches: Taylor in Box 1 (Mark Wallis) and Katie in Trap 3 (Liam Dowling) will no doubt be leaving their challenge late. Whether either can pick up the likely front runners, is anybody’s guess.
Between them, Lively Lauren (Matt Dartnall) can’t afford to miss the break again. She does her best running in the middle third of the race and only just about gets the 710m trip, so a fast start is imperative.
Graham Holland’s Jacktavern Bella is perhaps the most likely to get on the bunny and dictate the majority of the race.
Coonough Crow and wide running Tory Bellatrix have earned their seat at the table and both will grow into the race.
Garfiney Blaze took full advantage when Space Jet was badly baulked in the first round. Despite being crowded at the first, he posted a sub-43 second time which shouldn’t be overlooked. The other final spot is up for grabs with Savana Heross arguably the most likely. For the make-up of the final, Havana Lover running wide in Trap 6 would be a welcome finalist.
The third semi should see Droopys Clue progress for Seamus Cahill. The Juvenile Classic winner and Summer Stayer’s runner-up has taken the step-up in distance in his stride and is proving himself to be the one to beat over the longer trips. Millridge Tanic has the ability to upset calculations for Pat Curtin. The white and black was not for catching in the first round and could well push Droopys Clue a little harder than expected.
With three Birmingham Cup semi-finals on the card tonight, a repeat of last week’s drama is highly likely, if not inevitable. Churchfield Syd goes in the 3rd semi; Hawkfield Ozark and Rioja Joey go in the second. Brookside Richie fans can catch him at 18.41. Matt Dartnall’s Ivanexile will be hoping to take advantage of some space out wide in this one.
Yarmouth plays host to the East Anglian Derby tonight with Coolavanny Shado, the star of that particular show.
I’ll be glued to my phone tonight. Sure, the B-B-Q will be roasting, but the racing tonight will be far hotter!