As always there have been some shocks at Sunderland through The Classic. The £6,500 to the winner competition concludes tonight as part of a bumper card that features eleven open races.
Tighe to Land the Feature
A perfect 3/3 so far at Sunderland and getting faster with every run, Mindhowyougo looks hard to beat in the big final at 20.27. He has been foot perfect from the traps for Stuart Tighe and has not looked in any danger.
He had some smart times in Ireland before making the journey over to England and has lost none of his natural zip for new connections. A pleasure to watch in action, he can land his first final.
Emjay to Make No Mistake in Sprint Final
It was a poor time for Sonic Emjay to miss the break in the heats of the 261m contest last week but he showed his class to still make it into the final for Tighe, coming up at 19.58.
Generally he is a far slicker and consistent trapper than that so hopefully that was just a rare off day for him. The 15.73 that he produced the week before here sets a strong standard at this level.
Joanie Another to Make Up for Last Week
Move Over Joanie was a little disappointing over this 640m trip last week. Shuffled back in the field at the opening turn, she was never able to pick her way though the field after that early trouble.
Despite that, she stepped up on her sectional compared to her trial over the same trip which makes her of serious interest again if she can reproduce that for William Finley in the 21.01.
Wink Catches the Eye for Calvert
The opening race of the night at 18.19 can see Go Go Wink off the mark at this track. Fourth in his semi-final of the Classic last week when only beaten three and a quarter lengths in total, he takes on easier opposition tonight for Debbie Calvert.
He has plenty of early pace at his disposal, looking capable of leading up the pair inside him. Once in control on the rails, there should be no coming back for any of his opponents.
Third Time Lucky as a Stayer for Intent
The first two times that Droopys Intent has tried six bends have not been a success for him, failing to beat a rival home. In his defence, both were far deeper fields than he faces tonight, and he could be capable of making it third time lucky at 19.41.
He has taken well to racing here for Robert Thompson, rocketing home over the 450m trip. He shaped well in a trial over this far and that was on his own, he’s a far better hound when he has others to chase down.
*All odds correct at time of writing.