BOCKOS JON JO continued his top-class form when setting a new track record for the 270m distance at Towcester on Tuesday in the heats of the TRC Health + Hygiene Northamptonshire Sprint.

The Patrick Janssens-trained Coral Golden Sprint winner paced up into the turn in heat two and was soon in command, racing away for a four-length success in 15.64sec (normal) for the two-bend trip, finishing in front of Knocknaseed Gem (John Mullins) and the GBGB Sprinter of the Year Shrewd Call (David Mullins).

The event, which continues with three semi-finals at the Northamptonshire venue on Tuesday, kicked off with last year’s BarOne Irish Sprint Cup runner-up Ballymac Micko striking for Jim Reynolds. A decent break and strong-running effort set up a three-quarter of a length victory over Bentley Crew (Heather Dimmock) and Dollar Bill (Jason Bloomfield).

Lylas Boy landed an 18-1 surprise in heat three but there was nothing fortunate about the victory as the Nathan Hunt-trained two-year-old made a winning UK debut with an impressive all-the-way success in 15.90sec, winning by two and a half lengths from Aghaburren Joy (Paul White) and Optimism (Richard Devenish).

Winning trainer Hunt was delighted with the February 19 son of Ballymac Eske and Lemon Isabella, a three-time Cork winner owned by Rob Howe.

The Romford trainer said: “Rob sourced the dog from Cork where he was showing nice early but just struggling to see out the 480m there, so thought he might suit Romford.

“I’d been taking a few to Towcester trialling so thought we may as well try him and he went well first time, then did a nice trial at Central Park, so we knew the dog could run and I didn’t think it was any fluke that he won.

“I suppose the price reflected him being an unknown quantity over here. I would say there’s more to come as he’s still rough in the coat but he’s really settled into our routine well and has a great attitude at home and on the track.

“We’re hopeful of another good run, but it’s a very tough semi-final!” added Hunt in reference to a clash on Sunday against fellow heat winners Bockos Jon Jo, Ballymac Micko and Swift Guard.

Liz McNair’s Queen Lilly used a bullet break to win heat four as the recent Ladbrokes Winter Derby finalist at Monmore made all for a near two-length success over Mr Roo (Lee Field) and Bubbly Cain (Paul Young). The winning time was a fast 15.69sec, just over half a length shy of Bockos Jon Jo’s best earlier in the evening.

Richard Joyce sent out National Sprint finalist Feather Breeze to collar Meenagh Maverick (Neil Britton) close home in heat five, winning by a length in 16.02sec. Monmore raider Skipalong Sarge (Patricia Cowdill) was third here, while Swift Guard (Ben Reynolds) held the finish of Geelo Gold Dust (Carl Perry) and Ballymac Trend (Kevin Boon) to win in heat six. The winning time was 15.93sec.

Towcester spokesman Nathan Corden said: “It was a cracking’s night’s racing – and I think having three new track records set on the night underlines the overall quality we had on show.

“The distances changed only last year, of course, but nevertheless the performances of Bockos Jon Jo plus Aayamza Royale (58.40sec, 942m) and Blue Mischief (43.47sec, 712m) on the supporting card were top-notch, so well done to the connections of Mark Wallis’s bitch and Richard Devenish – his bitch (Blue Mischief) won a very hot S1.

“Aayamza Royale is the reigning Greyhound of the Year so it was special to see her race here – and the three-way marathon ‘Shoot-Out’ worked out well. It was a good race and Savana Volcano – for the boss Kevin Boothby! – surprised a few people when she led.

“In terms of future match races, or any competition for that matter, we’re more than happy to host it and would be delighted to hear from potential sponsors of connections of high-profile runners who maybe fancy a match scenario.

“As for the Northamptonshire Sprint, it was a very impressive performance by Bockos Jon Jo to do the clock and we have three very exciting semi-finals line-ups to look forward to next Tuesday.”

Form for Sunday’s semi-finals: https://towcester-racecourse.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/drawform.pdf