OXFORD greyhounds pulled off a great double in the finals of the BGS/SIS Easter Bunny competition at Swindon yesterday.
Inishowen Bell, trained by Nick Colton, landed the £750 first prize in the Division C 685 metres final by three-quarters of a length from Grazely Royal.
Terry Kibble’s Dippy Doo was untroubled in seeing off his rivals by an easy two and a quarter lengths in the Division C standard final also earning him £750.
Not so fortunate was the Maurice Massey-trained Geneva Robbie who could manage only third spot in the Division C sprint final.
- OXFORD are to experiment with a feature race from sister track Wimbledon on Saturday’s to make up a 12-event card.
Tote facilities will be available to bet on the extra race. With the William Hill Derby looming, it could be a winner.
Meanwhile, a crowd of around 1,000 bet £17,000 on the tote on Saturday.
- TRAINERS Championship sponsors, Betfair, have pulled the plug on their backing after trainers refused to attend the launch at the Savoy in London recently.
The trainers were also unhappy with the prize money.
- RICHARD Yeates seems to be blessed with some top-class hounds at the moment – and there are more to follow as he enthuses over his Freedom Emma pups.
“They are the best I have ever seen,” he said. “They are jumping out of their skins at the moment and are really alert at any sudden movement.”
Meanwhile, the highly-rated Rose-ville Bullet is open to big improvement by Yeates and heads for a puppy open next week.
- NICK Colton’s Bright Mac, one of the best sprinters at Oxford, is to be joined by litter brother Bright Dennis in the capable hands of trainer Robert Hannan. Dennis is rated faster than Mac. Should be interesting when they meet.
- BRIAN Clemenson, a regular winner of the big races at Oxford, had his last runners at Hove on Saturday before handing in his licence.
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