Vhagar, Candolim Typhoon and Zenith Boom booked their places in next Saturday’s George Curtis & Ballyregan Bob Memorial Final with semi-final victories over 740m at Hove, setting up an intriguing showdown between six high-class stayers.

Mark Wallis’s Vhagar produced the quickest performance of the three semi-finals, landing the opener in 44.28sec. Sent off the 4/9 favourite, the three-time category one winner was quickly away from trap five and led early before stretching clear to defeat 33/1 chance Broncos Bullet by two and three-quarter lengths.

That victory continued an excellent sequence for Vhagar, who had also won his opening-round heat at Hove following back-to-back successes over 664m at Central Park.

The second semi-final produced a considerably tighter finish as Candolim Typhoon justified 8/15 favouritism for Derek Knight.

The youngster took over at the fifth bend before holding the late-running Drombeg Flash by half a length in 44.55sec. The victory continued a strong spell for the June 24 son of Tommy Shelby and Galadriel who was recently named Hove’s October Dog of the Month after winning four races in October, including his first-round heat. 

Drombeg Flash had been slowly away but stayed on strongly to secure the second qualifying position.

In the third semi-final the remaining places were secured by Zenith Boom and Malcolm Bosh. Jimmy Fenwick’s Zenith Boom encountered crowding at the fifth bend but battled through to lead at the sixth.

The victory marked another step forward for the lightly raced September 2024 youngster, who had finished just half a length behind Vhagar in the opening round.

Malcolm Bosh also booked his place in the final, overcoming a very slow start to finish second.