NEW DESTINY etched her name in the history books by successfully defending her Premier Greyhound Racing Champion Stakes title at Romford.

On a night the Essex track also staged the finals of the Coral Romford Guys And Dolls and the Maurice Newman Memorial Marathon, it was Mark Wallis’s star who took the headlines with an incredible fifth Category One title pocketed as the brilliant October 2021 daughter of Grangeview Ten and Coonough Dolly repeated her victory of last year.

Lining up at the Essex venue as a 15-8 chance for the £20,000-to-the-winner showpiece over 575m – Roy Peckham’s Tiffield Tarquin (6-4) was preferred in the market – New Destiny was led from the boxes by her fast-starting kennelmate Fabulous Sonique, herself looking to go back-to-back in big races at Romford as July’s Coral Coronation Cup heroine.

Blasting to a 13.50sec sectional, Fabulous Sonique was well clear off the second bend and made the best of her way home. However, crucially, New Destiny was now giving chase having found a way through on the inside and set her sights on her kennelmate and gradually wore her down before hitting the front off the last bend.

Full of running, New Destiny had pulled two lengths clear at the line with Fabulous Sonique holding on for second – for a Wallis one-two – from the keeping-on Gary The Arb (Belinda Green), in his second Champion Stakes final, in third. The winning time was 35.42sec (-30) on an intermittently wet evening at the London Road venue.

Landing the spoils in the event for the second year running, New Destiny becomes only the third greyhound to defend the Premier Greyhound Racing Champion Stakes title, the last being the Sam Sykes-trained Sail Over in 1990/91.

As reported, victory for the MWD Partnership-owned runner sealed a fifth Category One triumph for New Destiny, her pair of Champion Stakes titles adding to successes in April’s Arena Racing Company Grand Prix at Sunderland, last year’s Coral Coronation Cup, also at Romford, plus victory  at Oxford in the bet365 Challenge Cup Final, also last year.

“She’s just an amazing bitch and the first we’ve to win five Cat Ones,” said winning trainer Mark Wallis, “and right from the start she’s been special.

“Destiny made her debut at Monmore in May 2023 – and she won it, which on one hand was no surprise given the class act she is, but also that actually Monmore’s not generally been that lucky for her. With more luck there we might be talking about six Cat Ones!

“But five is some record and we’re proud of her. She’s going to be some brood bitch for sure and that’s not too far away and the plan will be to try and defend her Challenge Cup title at Oxford. That might be that then, but we’ll see how and where she’s at. But she’s great just now, coming out of the race well.

“I’m proud of her but also of Sonia (Fabulous Sonique). She’s probably always been in the shadow of Destiny but is so honest and ran a great race on Friday. She’s played a massive part in this victory for us, denying the others the lead and proving the perfect pacemaker! It’s fantastic to have the one-two.”

Photos: © Steve Nash