Sunderland have put on an excellent card on Thursday night with some quality action, including the semis of the Classic. Those three races look incredibly competitive and should set things up for an outstanding final next week.
Popeye to Make Amends
Minglers Popeye was turned over in the heats after finding a little bit of trouble early in the piece, beaten just three-quarters of a length in total. That was a touch disappointing but he is a quality performer and is capable of making up for that.
The winner of the Ladbrokes Gold Cup at Monmore in the summer, he can book his place in another major final at 19.26 tonight on what should be a successful night for trainer Stuart Tighe.
Selection: Minglers Popeye @ 5/4
Skywalker to Show His Puppy Class
The 450m here is a touch on the short side for Skywalker Stan but his class can see him through in the puppy open at 18.19. The winner of the Puppy Trophy at Newcastle back in September, he has scored at Sheffield since.
He managed to get up in the nick of time to land the Puppy Cup for Ted Soppitt here in June, picking up a smart type in Brookside Richie in the shadow of the post. This is a much weaker race and he should get himself rolling in time again.
Selection: Skywalker Stan @ 1/4
Tighe’s Sprinter to Back Up His Win Last Week
Sonic Emjay has long looked like a nice recruit but it has taken him a little while to put everything together. He returned to race action here last week and bolted up in a decent time of 15.73.
With that behind him, the confidence of Tighe’s sprinter should be sky high and he can build on that success to rise up the ranks in this sphere, starting with the 18.51 tonight.
Selection: Sonic Emjay @ 1/1
Joanie to Enjoy Better Luck
Things didn’t go well for Move Over Joanie over this course and distance last week. Early trouble saw her turn the opening bend in last, showing plenty of fight to make her way up into second by the time they crossed the line.
She has a wider draw tonight in the 21.01 which might allow her to take a better line into the opening bend. She has some solid form over six bends for William Finley and can get back to her best tonight.
Selection: Move Over Joanie @ SP
Tommy to Take Race Full of Early Pace
The 19.41 is packed with early boot but none more than Harry Burton’s Slangevar Tommy. He was a smart winner of his Classic heat last week having gone quicker in a trial prior to that.
He is more than capable of stepping forward from those efforts again with another one of his better breaks. He can get first run on Little Venture who is a decent rival in opposition.
Selection: Slangevar Tommy @ 9/4
*All odds correct at time of writing