OPTIC JIMMY saved the best for last when posting the fastest time in the sixth and final heat of the ARC All England Cup at Newcastle on Tuesday.

Trained by local handler Harry Burton, the October 18 son of Droopys Sydney and Wee Bee made all the running to score by three lengths from Frankies Jet (Gary Ferguson) and recent Arc Classic champion Narcos The Great (George Cunningham) by three lengths in 28.59sec (-20). He won the recent Arc 450 at Sunderland on Classic final night.

Training honours went to another Newcastle trainer in Angela Harrison with a double courtesy of Brynoffa Lloyd and Hardy Rebel in heats two and three respectively.

Brynoffa Lloyd was first up when justifying favouritism with a trap-to-line victory over Gonzo (Julie Bateson) and Clona Smokey (Robert Galloway) in a fast 28.63sec (-30) before Hardy Rebel repeated the feat in his heat, scoring from Jumeirah Jimmy (Barrie Draper) and Fourbet Layla (Tom Heilbron) in 28.89sec (-20).

The Harrison double went some way to easing the disappointment of seeing ante-post favourite Coolavanny Aunty crash out of the event in heat one as the always handy Ben Reynolds-trained Crystal Reggie came home too strongly for another Harrison runner in Moanteen Mikey and Mustang Tyson (Ian Hopper) in 28.97sec (-30).

Dunquin Dreamer struck for Pelaw Grange handler Brian Fairbairn in heat four in 28.95sec (-20), leading off the last bend before holding Narcos Done (George Cunningham) by a short-head with a Killie Phantom (Robert Thomson) close-up third, while Little Emir completed a superb return to the track from injury in heat five.

George Cunningham’s runner, off the track for six months, showed his customary early pace and always in front, albeit Skywalker Stan (Ted Soppitt) kept up the pressure in behind, going down by just a short-head having joined the winner on the line. Nice As Ice (Jimmy Fenwick) stayed on for third here – the winning time was 29.02sec (-20).

Looking ahead to next week, Newcastle general manager Ian Walton said: “We’ve got three exciting semi-finals to look forward to come Tuesday.

“Fourteen different trainers have made it through and it looks very competitive. Optic Jimmy and Brynoffa Lloyd recorded the fastest times on the night, but Ben Reynolds and Barrie Draper will both think they have more to come from their greyhounds. Both Crystal Reggie, for Ben, and Barrie’s Jumeirah Jimmy are lightly raced improvers.

“We have restaurant availability for both semi-finals night and final night – on December 21 and December 28. To make a reservation just visit newcastle-greyhounds.co.uk

“Plans are already under way for next year and we are aiming to run the ARC Northern Puppy Derby in early February. The prize-money increase to £10,000 to the winner next year and should attract the best youngsters in the country aiming to follow in the paw-steps of last year’s winner Jaguar Macie.

“Next year promises to be an exciting one for open-racing here in the north-east and I’m sure Newcastle-attached trainers will continue to be very prominent in competitions next year, not just here at Newcastle but at other tracks also.”

Results: https://www.gbgb.org.uk/meeting/?meetingId=380386&raceId=799632

 

Trap draw for Tuesday’s semis:-

First semi: 1 Killie Phantom, 2 Clona Smokey, 3 Skywalker Stan, 4 Narcos The Great (m), 5 Crystal Reggie (m), 6 Nice As Ice (w).

Second semi: 1 Mustang Tyson, 2 Brynoffa Lloyd, 3 Hardy Rebel (m), 4 Dunquin Dreamer (m), 5 Moanteen Mikey (w), 6 Fourbet Layla (w).

Third semi: 1 Optic Jimmy, 2 Jumeirah Jimmy, 3 Little Emir (m), 4 Frankies Jet (m), 5 Narcos Dode (w), 6 Gonzo (w).