DUNSTALL PARK general manager Chris Black is looking forward to two major nights at the sport’s newest venue across the next two Fridays after last week’s second round of the Premier Greyhound Racing Oaks and heats of the Arena Racing Company Scurry Gold Cup.

“Friday was certainly our best night quality-wise so far,” said Black, the former Perry Barr GM, who has overseen the launch of the track at Wolverhampton Racecourse which opened its doors last month.

“We had 12 top-class races with the second round of the Oaks and six heats of the Scurry and thankfully the weather was better than it was the previous week for the Oaks heats!

“The general reaction from trainers has been really positive and, while there’s never room for complacency, anything that might need doing will be done without hesitation. However, as it stands, we’re delighted with how things have progressed.

“Having racegoers through the door makes a real difference and we’re looking forward to hosting decent crowds particularly over the next two Fridays.

“At Perry Barr we were very proud to stage major Classics in the shape of the Oaks and the St Leger and having the Oaks at Dunstall Park so soon to our launch has been a real boost, plus the Scurry Gold Cup was the traditional sprinters’ Classic and running it alongside the Oaks is making for some brilliant cards.”

Fastest in the Premier Greyhound Racing Oaks second round heats on Friday – albeit unfortunately since withdrawn from the semis – was the Seamus Cahill-trained Kelvins Hat who saved the best for last in heat six with an all-the-way success from fast-finishing favourite Strike It Skye (Mark Wallis) in 28.28sec (-10) for the 480m trip.

However, it was another Hove-based trainer who grabbed the headlines as Belinda Green, as well as seeing Gary The Arb make the final of the Premier Greyhound Racing Champion Stakes Final at Romford the same night, landed a Dunstall Park hat-trick, including a brace of Oaks second round heat winners.

Raebella Bullet set the ball rolling for Green with a gutsy defeat of favourite Meenagh Minsk (Nathan Hunt) in heat one, edging that rival by a short-head in 28.72sec (-10) after a great duel up the home-straight, while kennelmate Ballymac Kinga, a 20-1 chance, escaped crowding behind in heat four to win in 28.30sec (-10), a contest in which Irish hotpot and track record holder Droopys Kathleen was eliminated.

The other Oaks second round heats were won by Kim Billingham-Hine’s Kilwest Diva (28.53sec -10), trackmate Paradise Sky (28.51sec -10) for Brian Thompson, and Butlers Lane (28.43sec -10) winning for Nottingham’s Barry Denby.

Belinda Green, in addition to an Oaks double strike, also sent out a heat winner in the Arena Racing Company Scurry Gold Cup, her fast-starting Gur Gur Granville setting up a heat victory over local hope Millbank Burner (Kate Harrison) in 15.84sec (-5).

Other  Scurry Gold Cup heats were won by Mark Wallis’s Kilmore Mohican (15.79sec -5), Kevin Hutton’s pair of Jazzy George (15.81sec -5) and defending champion Rioja Oisin (15.54sec -5) – then a track record run – Kevin Boon’s Bockos Buster (15.61sec -5) and the Richard Rees-trained Shadow Storm.

The latter posted 15.49sec (-5) when accounting for Ballinakill Liam (Mark Wallis) to set a new track record for the 270m distance, bettering Rioja Oisin’s earlier mark.