RAIL MCCOY landed his second major title at Romford on Friday when winning the Coral Standard Trophy over 400m.

 

Chief support to the Premier Greyhound Racing Champion Stakes Final, the £5,000-to-the-winner three-round Category Two event produced a superb final on paper – and the race itself did not disappoint, with victory going to the reigning Coral Golden Sprint champion.

 

Quickly away and racing to a 3.77sec sectional, Rail Mccoy crucially got in front of market rival Droopys Good (Patrick Janssens) to lead at the bend and was always in command thereafter to claim the spoils for the owning The Last Dance Syndicate.

 

Keeping up the gallop, the August 2019 son of Ballymac Best and Swift Vicki crossed the line three lengths clear of Norah McEllistrim’s Ayle Blake, with the winner’s kennelmate Antigua Socks back in third. The winning time was 23.82sec (+20)

 

Winning trainer Mark Wallis said: “It was a great run and just underlined the form he’s been in the last couple of months – and we’re delighted to win it.

 

“He damaged a toe when winning the Golden Sprint and was off the track for a good few weeks and, to be honest, we initially didn’t know whether he’d recover his best form. But this last couple of months he’s been flying again.

 

“He’s had some good battles with Droopys Good of late and it was vital he was able to get first run on him – and I’m also delighted with how our Antigua Socks has run, finishing third.  But this was Rail McCoy’s night and that’s great.

 

“Romford really is tailor-made for him and he can run from traps three, four, five or six here. I’d delighted for his owners, too. They love the game and this boy has done them proud, winning the Golden Sprint and now this.

 

“Well done and thanks to Romford and the sponsors for putting these competitions on. The Champion Stakes was the main event, of course, but having a good Cat Two alongside it meant we had some of the best 400m dogs around here tonight, too.”

 

Mark Arkell, Romford’s deputy racing manager, said: “Well done to Rail Mccoy and his connections for winning the Coral Standard Trophy and to Warzone Tom and his connections for winning the Premier Greyhound Racing Champion Stakes.

 

“Both finals were top-quality and all-round it’s been a tremendous night. We had five finals down for decision in all, including a kennel sweepstakes final, and these events are proving really popular for our owners and trainers.

 

“It means our graded dogs are sharing the stage with the top open-racers on a big night here at Romford and that’s going down well with all.”

 

Results: https://www.gbgb.org.uk/meeting/?meetingId=390319&raceId=883398