BOWER SHEERAN played the chief supporting role to the main event with victory in the Arena Racing Company Shootout Stakes Final at Sunderland’s biggest meeting of the year.

The £5,000-to-the-winner Category Two event, a unique competition in which the winners of six heats the previous week qualified for the 450m decider, followed the final of the Premier Greyhound Racing Classic and the Tom Heilbron-trained Bower Sheeran was just as impressive as big-race winner Santas Amigo had been just over 30 minutes earlier.

Showing superb speed into the bend, as in the heats, the November 2023 son of King Sheeran and Antigua Hope soon had his rivals under pressure and was never headed to improve his UK record to four wins from six starts as he crossed the line a length and three-quarters in front of Cunnigar King (Mark Bulmer) in 27.07sec (normal).

“He went really well and I was over the moon with him,” said winning trainer Heilbron after what was a fourth success in a row for the youngster.

“He’s looks a really nice prospect,” he added. “Pat Rosney sourced the dog for me so big thanks to him. He’s been a great help to me over the years.

“Bower Sheeran looks to be a dog who has improvement to come and will hopefully strengthen up over the next few months and maybe get a bit further. We’ll trial him at Nottingham on Monday for the National Sprint as I think he has enough early to go with the top drawer sprinters. The Pall Mall at Oxford next summer is an obvious target.

“The lads who have bought into the dog – Andy Tait, Richard Colwell and Martin Thumble – are delighted he’s brought them immediate success. They’re already thinking about buying another one which is great news.”

Congratulating connections of the night’s big-race winners, Sunderland general manager Joanne Wilson said: “It was great to see Team Mullins lift the trophy with the outstanding Santas Amigo. Davy always supports our competitions and his ex-kennelhand from decades ago is now our racing manager Joe Frelford!

“Bramble Linton, last year’s Classic winner for Steve Anderson and Chloe Hardy, did a meet and greet with our racegoers and led the parade for the main event which was great.

“The Shootout Stakes was a huge success and a unique race concept suggested by Tom Heilbron – who ended up winning it with Bower Sheeran! It’s definitely a competition which we’ll be repeating next year.

“It was also lovely to see our very own Jill Sutherst with a Witton-prefixed greyhound winning the BGBF British Bred Invitation with her home-bred Witton Versace.

“We had a really good crowd of racegoers and most of the hospitality areas were full.”