WOLTEMADE is favourite to land a fourth Category One title when he lines up in Saturday’s semi-finals of the Arena Racing Company Birmingham Cup at Dunstall Park on Saturday.

The Jimmy Fenwick-trained star, already winner of the Arc Northern Puppy Derby, Time Northern Flat and Ladbrokes Gold Cup, clocked the fastest time in the heats as the Newcastle star notched a superb eight-timer when racing away early from his rivals in heat five on his way to a 28.20sec (-20) success for the 480m trip, crossing the line three and a half lengths clear of Teejays Buddy (Paul Young).

“He has so much speed and when he traps like he did on Saturday it’s a potent combination,” said Dunstall Park racing manager Martin Seal, who oversaw six heats of the Birmingham Cup alongside four heats of the Premier Greyhound Racing St Leger which makes for a huge double-header at Wolverhampton Racecourse 

“I think him Woltemade and Droopys Flare, in the St Leger, were the most impressive in the heats and the clock tells you that,” added Seal. “I’m sure Jimmy will have been delighted to see both Zenith Pasha, again in the Leger, and Woltemade win their heats – and he’s developed into a brilliant competition runner has Woltemade and is consistently doing fast clocks also.

“He’s not massively a wide runner, so maybe trap six isn’t ideal but it’s not a massive hindrance – he’s won out of six at Monmore and at Newcastle so I’d say he’d handle it alright.

“Of the others in the Birmingham Cup, Kranky Drake definitely left an impression. He’d been off a while before the heats so you’d say there’s more to come and it’s always good to see Kevin (Hutton) with a good team of runners for both events here.”

Maxine Locke landed a Birmingham Cup heat double courtesy of half-brothers Headford Cian in 28.58sec (-20) and Headford Dane in 28.52sec (-20), while the remaining heats went to the aforementioned Kevin Hutton-trained Kranky Drake in 28.56sec (-20), John Campbell’s Venetian Nero in 28.55sec (-20) and the Richie Taberner-trained hat-trick-landing Holding Aero in 28.54sec (-20).