MONMORE racing manager Tony Williamson is looking forward to Saturday’s semi-finals of the Ladbrokes Winter Derby 2025 after the weekend’s heats threw up a few surprises, mixed in with some cracking performances – not least from fastest winner Queen Georgia, who produced one of the best finishes of the night.

“The McNairs enjoy their trips to Monmore,” said Williamson. “They had a hat-trick in the Winter Derby heats last year and, while Queen Georgia was their only entry this year, she was definitely worth the wait in heat six and timewise saved the best for last! It was a great finish because Romeo Steel had a done a lot of running to get to the front.

“I thought overall it was an interesting night, to say the least,” he added. “Conditions were definitely tougher and suited the stronger types probably more than the out-and-out speedsters, which is unusual for Monmore I suppose. But the weather has been pretty poor for a good few weeks it seems – the track has taken a lot of water!

“In the circumstances I thought it ran okay. We had a few heat winners who’ve won over further – Queen Georgia, remember, was second in the (Ladbrokes) Summer Stayers Classic here to Droopys Clue – but then a couple of really good front runners got away.”

The event kicked off with Gary The Arb, a 575m winner at Romford and semi-finalist in the Ladbrokes Summer Stayers Classic, justifying favouritism.

Belinda Green’s runner was led at the bend by Romeo Steel (Patrick Janssens) who forced his way through to the front at the bend after being crowded at the start, but was never likely to be stopping once in a good position down the far side and powered to the front off the last bend for a two and a quarter lengths success in 28.43sec (-20).

The Gemma Evans-trained Millbank Boiler paced up into the lead approaching the first bend in heat two and was always dominating thereafter. The Romford raider set a cracking pace and, while Scooby The Boss (Nathan Hunt) came through well, the Romford-based winner still had a length in hand at the line, scoring in a slick 28.36sec (-20).

Kilmore Dancer won an eventful heat three as Mark Wallis’s dog produced a strong finish to catch longtime leader Nowitsmyturn (Richard Rees) but then eased on the line as he joined issue with his rival on the line. Monmore’s stewards revealed they reviewed the race  afterwards and spoken to the winning trainer.

For the record, Kilmore Dancer won by a short-head from Nowitsmyturn in 28.56sec (-20).

There was a shock in a high-class heat four as the Mike Burton-trained Droopys Suprstar came from last to first to deny Jet Stream Angel (Kevin Hutton) on the line, winning by a head in 28.53sec (-20). Favourite Proper Heiress was crowded out at the bend but rallied to finish third and heads into Saturday’s semi-finals.

There was another strong-running display in heat five as Maxine Locke’s Droopys Pivotel, crowded early, and Sunnyside Broxi (Ted Soppitt) can through late to catch leader Unanimous Leon (Tom Heilbron), the former winning by three-quarters of a length in 28.46sec (-20) for the 480m trip.

The concluding heat six saw Queen Georgia ultimately set the standard with a fastest-of-the-night 28.32sec (-20) as the Time 3 Steps winner and Ladbrokes) Summer Stayers Classic runner-up powered to the front to catch Untold Ruble (Tom Heilbron), scoring by a head from the Newcastle tracker.

Trap draw for Saturday’s Ladbrokes Winter Derby semi-finals:

First semi: 1 Droopys Suprstar, 2 Queen Georgia, 3 Droopys Extragud, 4 Scooby The Boss, 5 Longacres Magic, 6 Proper Heiress.

Second semi: 1 Romeo Steel, 2 Kilmore Dancer, 3 Jet Stream Angel, 4 Gary The Arb, 5 Aayamza Sydney, 6 Millbank Boiler.

Third semi: 1 Unanimous Leon, 2 Sunnyside Broxi, 3 Droopys Pivotel, 4 Nowitsmyturn, 5 Untold Ruble, 6 Keefill Rocky (m).