There will be a local flavour to next week’s BGBF British Breeders’ Stakes final after Wolf Gold outran his odds to qualify for Nottingham Stadium’s feature race on Monday night.
The two-year-old fawn dog was last of the six entering the first bend during Semi Final Two where only the first three would qualify for the £12,500 to the winner race at the Colwick Park venue.
But Jill Llewellin’s homebred gamely stayed on to finish third behind last year’s champion Acomb Felix and 2023 English Greyhound Derby runner-up Romeo Command to join other qualifiers Romeo Empire, Savana Merapi and Romeo Control in next week’s final.
It marks a second time in only three years that Jill has reached the BGBF British Breeders’ Stakes final. In 2023, Blyth Blaze reached the final while Wolf Moon – Wolf Gold’s older brother – reached the Puppy Classic final a year earlier.
Jill said qualifying for Monday’s final was an achievement in itself and admitted she can’t wait for the race to begin.
“We weren’t expecting to qualify, but we did it,” said Jill. “It’s fantastic and I couldn’t be more pleased for the dog because he is a truly lovely greyhound.
“We were last going around the first bend, but he’s so tough and just kept on galloping – that’s purely in his breeding and we’re very proud of him.
“When you consider the competition he was up against in the semi finals, he did really well to hold his own. His problem is he isn’t the best starter, and he can miss out on an even faster time by getting caught in traffic.
“That said, we can be proud to have qualified for the final. British breeding is my passion so to reach the final again is so satisfying – fingers crossed he can do us proud on the night.
“He’s an out-and-out railer, so we could’ve been drawn better than trap three but equally it’s not a disaster.”
Admission for the 2025 BGBF British Breeders’ Stakes final is free for all racegoers. The first of 14 races on the night begins at 6.19pm.
2025 BGBF British Breeders’ Stakes: Romeo Command, Romeo Empire, Wolf Gold, Savana Merapi, Romeo Control, Acomb Felix.
