With the rain coming through on Sunday night and a heatwave forecast for the week ahead, we took the opportunity to get our galloping done early on Monday morning. We put 29 dogs through their paces before the temperatures climbed.

It’s been great to get a few dogs back to work after spells off with coughs and other minor issues. Witton Thomas, Witton Mac, Coppice Ferry, Baroness Velvet, and Zinedine Zedog all enjoyed being back in action. Among the race dogs, Coppice Ella, Southfield Poppy, Antigua Kestrel, and Kranky Drake also moved nicely.

A big thank you to Swindon for accommodating some trials for us on Tuesday evening as we looked to requalify three of our open-race team.
Union Rebel clocked a very pleasing 15.43 in his first spin since having a flexor tendon removed. Coppice Trophy (15.59) returned from a cough, while Coppice Ronnie looked none the worse for his fall at Central Park a few weeks back, posting 15.44.

We also said goodbye to Ivy’s Show Girl (Lola) on Tuesday evening as she left to join Dalton Smith. She’s been an absolute pleasure to have in the kennel—genuine and great fun. Lately, she’s been struggling a little at Oxford and looks ready for a step up in trip. Lola won 5 races for us, including a best of 26.69, and was unlucky to miss her place in the British Bred Oaks final last year when she came into season just days before the big night.

Thursday started early with a visit from Michael Flynn. Moments of Magic came back home after her mating to Droopys Flytline, so now we play the waiting game to see if she’s in pup. We also welcomed Deelish Top Boy for John Porter—an October pup with top-class breeding (Ballymac Bolger x Crafty Jayko). He won 3 races in Ireland, including a best of 28.64 around Limerick.

Robert Meek spent Thursday with us to check over about 40 dogs. It was largely positive news, although Deelish Crofty will face a month off with a sore calf muscle.

Friday brought another early start as we met Ross Myles to collect Rebel Alaska, a beautiful unraced March pup by Ballymac Bolger out of Change Me. He’s settled in really well already.

Unfortunately, Friday evening’s trip to Oxford ended up being a wasted one as temperatures didn’t quite drop enough to allow racing. Thankfully, Oxford’s kennel facilities are among the best in the country, so the dogs were comfortable in the air-conditioned range while they waited.

As far as preparation goes, the lead-up to our big local race—the Pall Mall—hasn’t been ideal, with the kennel coughing bug meaning none of the team had raced for at least two weeks before Saturday night’s first round. So, we were all delighted to see 6 of our 8-strong team qualify.

Litter sisters Coppice Ella and Southfield Poppy served up a cracking buckle in the first heat, with Ella just getting the better of Poppy by half a length in 26.55. It was great to see Poppy back to her best after a couple of missed breaks in recent races, and both girls should come on for the run. Ella has now won 3 of her 6 open races since returning from a gracilis injury and continues to build a terrific record at Oxford.

Pete and Christine Sandbach’s Union Rebel continues to amaze. Despite a far-from-ideal preparation, he managed to win his heat by a length in 26.91. This was his first race since landing the Golden Sprint in March, and less than a month since having a flexor tendon removed. He’s sure to improve again and, if luck’s on his side, could be a real contender if he reaches the final.

Rioja Oisin safely made it through to the next round, finishing second in his heat despite a slow start and some trouble just before the first bend. Although he was well beaten by the winner, we were delighted to see him qualify—this was his first run back over four bends since early March 2024. He was a bit fresh and fizzy beforehand, so the outing will have done him the world of good ahead of the semi-finals.

Unfortunately, the brilliant Start The Engine made an early exit from the competition after getting tangled up all the way to the first bend with kennel mate Antigua Kestrel. Despite managing to turn in a qualifying position, he was always vulnerable from there having not led, and eventually missed out. He’s still a young dog, and this was the first time he’s had to deal with real bumping and barging—he’ll be back in the winners’ enclosure before long.

Antigua Kestrel, meanwhile, ran a huge race. After being forced to check at the three-quarter mark, he fairly flew home off the last bend to get up and win by 1½ lengths in 26.51. He’s such a versatile dog and there’s nothing in the competition that would want him turning too close to them.

Signet Nayla was another of our runners to miss out, finishing fourth in her heat after getting badly crowded at the first bend. She did a lot of running late on but just missed out on qualification. The British Bred Oaks in August now looks an ideal target for her, and she’ll be kept busy in the lead-up to that. Rioja Maxi also deserves credit after qualifying from an exceptionally hot heat in third. She missed the break and found plenty of trouble in running, so she’ll come on a lot for having that run under her belt.

Dreamin Reggie rounded off the night in style, completing a four-timer for the kennel. He made it three wins from his last four races, flying the lids to lead all the way in the standard open. He crossed the line 4 lengths clear in a personal best of 26.63 and is clearly loving his racing at the moment.