March On Freddie set the standard in round one of the JenningsBet Puppy Classic at Nottingham Stadium on Monday evening by registering the fastest time of the night.
David Mullins’ September ’22 dog stopped the clock at 29.49 seconds – an average speed of 37.92mph – when beating kennel mate Syd Zafiro and Kevin Hutton’s Rioja Bungle to qualify.
It was the evening’s standout performance with only Seamus Cahill’s Missile One and Matt Dartnell’s Fire and Ice recording a time under the 30-second mark.
March On Freddie’s owner George Watson travelled up from London to watch his star pup land a sixth career win and his first at category one level, the highest grade of UK greyhound racing.
As a wide seed, he’ll race from the outside box – trap six – in next Monday’s semi finals where he’ll meet Velvet Black, Rioja Bungle, Ravenswell Aero, Senahel Tedster and fellow round one winner Fire and Ice.
George, a stockbroker by trade, explained March On Freddie ran the race he’d hoped for. And it meant a lot given his mum – Seaglass Shadow – is a greyhound which previously raced under George’s name.
“This was Seaglass Shadow’s final litter, and they’ve all won open races,” said George. “Rachel (Wheeler) reared him, and he was the one we chose.
“There are nerves before the first round of a category one competition, especially when your dog has a chance to go all the way. He broke really well and put a decent gap between himself and Syd Zafiro down the back straight – it was always going to be hard for any greyhound to pick him up from there.
“It made the journey home feel a lot quicker, and we’ll keep our fingers crossed for a repeat performance in the semi finals.”
Other winners on the night included John Lambe’s Swift Underwater, Stuart Ray’s Blackhouse Kim and Colin Wilton’s Crafty Elmo.
Three semi finals are scheduled to take place on Monday, August 19, with the top two greyhounds in each race advancing to the following week’s final worth £12,500 to the winner.
Tickets for the semi finals can be purchased by clicking here. Meanwhile admission on finals night is free for all racegoers with the offer forming part of Nottingham Stadium’s National Greyhound Week celebrations.
JenningsBet Puppy Classic semi finals:
Semi Final One: No Better Feelin, Swift Underwater, Droopys Extragud, Missile One, Salacres Wild, Brigadir Brindle.
Semi Final Two: Skeard Josie, Amazing Hulk, Kilgarran Jay, Syd Zafiro, Blackhouse Kim, Crafty Elmo.
Semi Final Three: Fire and Ice, Velvet Black, Rioja Bungle, Ravenswell Aero, Senahel Tedster, March on Freddie.
