ROMFORD stadium manager Karen McMillan is looking forward to another bumper Friday night at the track given the Premier Greyhound Racing Champion Stakes Final takes centre-stage this week as part of a 12-race meeting which will feature on Gone To The Dogs – Live!

“That’s certainly gives the night an additional buzz,” said McMillan. “Having cameras here to capture the atmosphere on track is always special and it gives owners and trainers – and the greyhounds themselves, of course – the spotlight they deserve.

“That came across so well at Yarmouth when they were there for the (Click Competitions) East Anglian Derby Final for their first show and I know for a fact they’re throwing even more at this broadcast – and we’re delighted to be the track chosen for their second show!

“We’ve been constant contact with the team and would like to thank them for the additional sponsorship which has meant boosting prize-money for some of the supporting races for a night in which we’re not just staging the Premier Greyhound Racing Champion Stakes and Coral Silver Standard but also the Maurice Newman Memorial Final.”

New Destiny and Aayamza Sydney served up a thriller in the second semi-final of the Premier Greyhound Racing Champion Stakes, the pair producing one of the races of the year as they both made it through to the £20,000 decider.

The Mark Wallis-trained New Destiny was led up by Aayamza Sydney (John Mullins) with the Coral Essex Vase runner-up seemingly in pole position for the win. However, Coral Coronation Cup heroine New Destiny kept up the pressure on the leader and gradually wore him down for a head victory in 35.18sec (normal).

The first semi-final went to Seamus Cahill’s Noirs News who landed an all-the-way victory, crossing the line three and a half lengths clear of the staying-on Golden Palace (Michelle Brown) in 35.30sec, denying third-placed Roxys Bullet, the Essex Vase champion, a place in another major Romford final.

The third semi-final saw a powerful effort from Gary The Arb as Belinda Green’s runner grabbed Nowitsmyturn (Richard Rees) at the fourth turn before going on for a four and a quarter length success in 35.37sec (normal) – meaning Hove-trained runners will make up half the field on Friday in the Premier Greyhound Racing Champion Stakes Final.

Fastest in the supporting Coral Silver Standard semi-finals was the David Mullins-trained Brindle Bully, a brother of kennel star and Irish Derby-bound March On Freddie, as he raced away for a seven-length win over Cunnigar Yousir (Nathan Hunt) in 23.61sec for the 400m trip.

The other Coral Silver Standard semis went to Michelle Brown’s Pro Parker (24.03sec) and Maxine Locke’s Droopys Bucko (24.14sec).

*Friday’s final will be broadcast on YouTube via the Gone To The Dogs – Live! channel via youtube.com/@gonetothedogs-live

*Trap draw for Friday’s finals: https://assets.cj1.in/imminent-otter/production/assets/results/Romford/form-guides/FRIDAY-PROOF_2024-10-11-211315.pdf