ROMEO ALLIANCE completed an unbeaten run through the event with victory in the JR Racing Juvenile Classic at Towcester on Sunday – leading home a Patrick Janssens-trained 1-2-3 in the process – and will now be aimed at the Nottingham Puppy Classic.

Helping to continue his trainer’s fantastic run of success at the Northamptonshire venue, coming a month after his success with Droopys Plunge in the Star Sports/TRC English Greyhound Derby, Romeo Alliance justified favouritism ultimately comfortably – albeit was led from the boxes by Not So Steady.

However, pacing up well into the first bend to draw alongside his kennelmate, the Dave and Nicola Firmager-owned and bred October 2023 son of Romeo Magico and Fabulous Mila was clear off the second bend and on his way to a three and a half lengths success over Not So Steady and the winner’s litter brother Romeo Ability.

The winning time for Romeo Alliance was a quick 28.95sec (-10) – and came at the perfect time! Just minutes after the £10,000-to-the-winner Category One decider, the heavens opened with the deluge forcing the presentation of the trophy inside the main grandstand.

“Ria (Janssens, daughter) had Alliance at the presentation along with Dave and Nicola (Firmager),” said the winning trainer. “Myself and Cheryl had taken the other two back to the kennels – it was hammering it down. It was just one of those things, you had to laugh, but it didn’t take anything away for us. Alliance has been brilliant.

“Our thanks go to the sponsors JR Racing. It was nice of Maxine (Locke, trainer) and Terry (Lambourne) to represent the sponsors and it’s great that people like Jack (Russell) are sponsoring these events. If we hadn’t have won it, then we’d have wanted Maxine to win it! Maybe next year – you never know.

“We’ll probably send the three pups (Romeo Alliance, Not So Steady, Romeo Ability) to Nottingham now for the Puppy Classic there and Droopys Plunge will go for the Select Stakes. We know he runs Nottingham and that will will be his main target now after the Derby, maybe with a race before.

“He had a sprint trial at Towcester on Sunday and came out of that well. We’ll probably given him a four-bend trial next to tick him over and then we’ll see.”