BROOKSIDE RICHIE will be the youngest runner in next week’s Stadium Bookmakers Juvenile Classic Final at Towcester after his quickest-of-the-night effort in Tuesday’s third semi-final.

The David Mullins-trained youngster, a October 2019 son of Droopys Sydney and Droopys Greatest, dominated from the inside slot with a decent break on his way to a 4.15sec sectional and overall 29.34sec (+10) clocking for the 500m, crossing the line two and a half lengths clear of Aero Donnie (Nathan Hunt).

Brookside Richie now lines up as the only unbeaten finalist in the GBGB’s newest Category One competition at the Northamptonshire track on Tuesday, a race which offers a first prize of £12,500.

Next quickest was the Tom Heilbron-trained Anynamewilldo (Eden The Kid-Song Of Sixpence, Sept 2019) who, while also winning from the red jacket in the opening semi, overcame a slower exit before pacing up impressively to lead off the second bend and hold Mark Wallis’s Blueberry Bullet in 29.51sec (+10).

Winning trainer Heilbron said: “He’s a really nice and gutsy type, but I think I had him a little heavy last night. He’s flopped the boxes but showed a bit of trackcraft holding himself around the first two bends and waiting for the gap.

“For me he’s improving all the time and I think that run will bring him on again. I wouldn’t want to swap him for anything else in the final and, if he gets a clear run, he’s going to give a really decent account of himself again.”

The second semi went to the Wallis-trained Billis Tudor (Droopys Roddick-Mustang Jill, Aug 19) who gives Imperial Kennels a second finalist on Tuesday after making all from the outside pitch to land odds of 10-1 when leading home Diane Henry’s Savana Scrappy by two and a quarter lengths. The winning time was 29.79sec (+10).

James Chalkley, joint-racing manager at Towcester, said: “Brookside Richie set a good standard in the semis. He has taken to Towcester really well and has shown he can win from an inside and middle trap, so I don’t think the draw in trap four will be a problem. Savana Scrappy heads towards the rails early anyway so he should have plenty of racing room and opportunity to show his early pace.

“Nevertheless, as we know, you still have to do everything right to win and there’s some very fast youngsters in Tuesday’s final.

“Of course, this Cat 1 competition follows immediately after the successful running of the 2021 English Greyhound Derby here at Towcester.

“On that, I want to give a special mention to the incredible training performance of Patrick Janssens to take first and second in the Derby. I just had to stand back and admire what I was seeing!

“I was over the moon with Derby final night on the whole. The quality on show was the best I can remember and we are very much looking forward to holding more high-quality open-racing in the future, starting with the Juvenile Classic Final here on Tuesday night.”

Trap draw for Tuesday’s Stadium Bookmakers Juvenile Classic Final: 1 Anynamewilldo, 2 Blueberry Bullet, 3 Savana Scrappy, 4 Brookside Richie, 5 Aero Donnie (m), 6 Billis Tudor (w).