Seven open races at Sheffield tonight, with five of them appealing more than the other pair.
There’s a nice mix of locals and raiders from other tracks with two, four and six bend races in the mix for a great blend of a card.
Stan to overcome tricky draw
The draw in trap four is not ideal for Skywalker Stan in the 18.51 but Ted Soppitt’s hound has the class to overcome this wider berth than normal. A finalist in the All England Cup at the back end of 2021, he is the winner of two of his previous four starts here.
He also beat the re-opposing three dog tonight when they clashed twice over 450m at Sunderland in November. This longer trip suits the selection much more and he can use his old rival to tow him in the race again.
Jil is back in flying form
Castlehill Jil split a smart pair of sprinters when runner-up in a minor Perry Barr competition at the back end of September. She missed more than three months of action while in season ahead of her return last week.
After that amount of time off, she was entitled to need the run but she pinged out and picked up right where she left off. There is still a strong chance that she will come on for that effort which can see her score at 19.26 for Sean Davy.
Parker’s stayer coming out of her shell
Second and third in a pair of previous starts over this 660m test, Cloncunny Shell can make it third time lucky in the 21.01. She is unexposed as a stayer, with Sean Parker’s charge having a nice slot to make use of right on the rails.
Tonight’s contest lacks the depth of the other two that have seen her right in the mix, so this slight drop in class can see her off the mark over six bends.
Heilbron looking for another successful raid
Another contest over 660m is at 20.27 where Franco Kiara can land the spoils for Newcastle trainer Tom Heilbron. She has some experience over 640m at her home track, including a smart second to Nice As Ice just after Christmas.
Although she lacks a look at Sheffield, the time that she clocked in that recent run behind a solid yardstick sets a decent standard for the others to aim at.
Jenny to continue her winning ways
Kevin Ferguson is a regular at Sheffield on a Tuesday and it’s Acomb Jenny who can make the journey worthwhile tonight at 19.41.
A winner at this track and then Newcastle, one each side of Christmas, sees her arrive on a hat-trick. Given a spin round in a trial over two bends here last week, that should have her spot on to add another success.
