TOWCESTER consultant Nathan Corden is confident the Juvenile Classic will develop into one of the major puppy competitions after Brookside Richie landed the inaugural running this week.

The David Mullins-trained runner, an October 2019 son of Droopys Sydney and Droopys Greatest, lined up as the youngest runner in the Stadium Bookmakers-backed £12,500 final and completed an unbeaten run through the event – albeit needed to hold off a strong challenge from runner-up Anynamewilldo (Tom Heilbron).

“It was a fantastic finish and there was almost nothing between them at the line,” said Corden. “It was one of those great races when you’re never really sure which way it will go. Brookside Richie led but Anynamewilldo showed great pace to challenge and you felt he had the opportunity to win, too.

“It wasn’t to be for Tom and his team, but both pups are clearly worth keeping an eye on and them serving up such a thrilling finish was great to see for the first running. Congratulations to David and his team and owner Rich Vickers for winning our latest Category One competition here at Towcester.

“We’re looking forward to establishing the Juvenile Classic and thanks go to our bookmakers here for their generous sponsorship. A £12,500 first prize for a puppy competition is something we’re proud to have staged and the race itself let no-one down and worked well alongside the Derby.”

For his part, Mullins was delighted to have claimed another major title – although he, too, was swept up in the rollercoaster way the 500m contest panned out.

“When he came out and made the bend I thought go on boy, you can win now! But then you could see the one dog beginning to chase him down and then I thought we might be beat. He was definitely headed but he’s quite a jealous dog and a came back – and I do think there’s more to come from him.

“It’s nice to have another Cat One winner in the kennel and, yes, he does remind me of a certain other dog we have in the kennel – although doesn’t need trap one as much!”

For the record, Brookside Richie crossed the line a short-head in front of Anynamewilldo, with Blueberry Bullet back in third. The winning time was 29.48sec.

Nathan Hunt has reported Aero Donnie damaged a stopper bone in the Towcester final which could be career-threatening. “There’s a chance he could return being so young, but either way he’ll be well looked after,” said the Romford trainer.