Dollar cashes in at Monmore to win Puppy Derby

Having been the quickest in the semi-finals, Dollar went into the Saturday lunchtime showpiece as the 2/1 favourite and duly delivered for unattached trainer Carol Weatherall and owners Callum and John Purdy.

He clocked a time of 28.21 seconds, seeing off the challenge of a game Barntick Bear (Patrick Janssens, Towcester) to win this year’s staging of the prestigious event dating back to 1943.

The August ‘22 pup – whose three races in Britain so far have all come in the Puppy Derby – typically shot out of the boxes from trap two and just beat Droopys Eunice (Maxine Locke, Romford) and Getup Me Champ (Belinda Green, Hove) to the front of the queue at the first bend.

Bear, having also trapped slowly before making up a lot of ground in the semi-finals, kicked into gear on the back straight but Dollar was not to be caught and prevailed by half a length.

Clona Curly (Diane Henry, Towcester) finished in third and Omuircheartaigh (Tom Heilbron, Newcastle) fourth, while Eunice and Champ came fifth and sixth respectively in a thrilling affair.

The other big final on the card was the Category Three Jim Woods Memorial Trophy run in tribute to Monmore’s former racing manager, with Green’s Baywatch Bullet landing the £1,500 winners’ purse in emphatic fashion.

Bullet very much lived up to his name as he triumphed by seven-and-a-half lengths in the 630m race, leaving the rest of field trailing his wake.

Also on the card, Heilbron superstar Links Maverick – who won the Ladbrokes Gold Cup at the track last August – managed another sub-28secs time at Monmore as he won the Ladbrokes.com 480 Division One race in 27.96.

The not-often-seen 900m Marathon race saw Henry’s Savana Heross come flying out before kennelmate Savana Jazz showed the stamina required to eventually win over eight bends.

The other Opens saw Droopys Doughnut (Janssens), Gary The Arb (Green) and Vixons Filofax (Brian Thompson) each claim impressive victories.

Filofax could be one to keep a close eye on in the coming months for Monmore trainer Thompson having looked a class apart in his latest success.