Matt first went racing in February 1982 at just 3 months old. Attracted to the sport by Desert Orchid in the late 80's, a media degree started a path to horse racing journalism. Owner of many horses and greyhounds through the years, the latter has led to the formation of the myracing greyhound syndicate, a Greyhound Writers Association membership as well as appearances on Racing Post Greyhound TV.
The second of our runners for the myracing.com Greyhound Syndicate takes his chance at Crayford today. Droopys Hyde has to deal with a double upgrade on the back of his excellent win recently. Let’s take a look at his chances and the rest of the opposition.
Today’s preview comes from one of our syndicate managers, David Mitchell.
Today’s Syndicate Runner
Droopys Hyde – Hyde produced arguably his best effort to date last week when he fair dotted up by 5 and half lengths at Crayford. He did that in a decent time for the grade which resulted in a double upgrade. That might seem a little harsh but you can’t argue with his clock. His early pace over 540 is really good and he’ll need that today if he’s wanting to land a blow at these. For us he’s in-form and deserves his chance at this level but we’d just like to just sit back and see how he goes.
Today’s Opponents
Turbine Thallo – Like Hyde this dog won last week, not as convincing but her time was very good. She probably doesn’t have Hyde’s early but she is far more consistent at the boxes and that would be a worry. If she was to sneak up that rail she could really put it up to them but like Hyde she’s dealing with a double upgrade and that would be a negative.
Droopys Andes – Andes is a very good dog his day far superior than this level. The problem is he doesn’t always show his best or when he does those efforts are few and far between. He’s coming down the grades which will help him at this level and if he was to have a going day then they would all need to beat him. He’s not one to go in deep on but he does have class.
Cashen Serengeti – A little bit stuck between grades at Crayford which has caused him problems and this draw isn’t going to help. He always runs his race but that isn’t good enough at this level. He needs to bang out and lead and looking at this field we can’t see that happening. For us he’ll be a dog for another day.
Mayas Little Bro – Probably needs further these days but he has competed at S1 level back in July so he does command respect. He’s got 4 wins in 11 attempts in this grade and if he was to produce his best he could push a few of these. He stays and he has a touch of class, if he wants it he could win it.
Rogue Mustang – Stepping back from open class today and although she was beaten comfortably she still filled the runner-up spot. A drop in class has worked wonders in the past and that could be the making of her today. If she could get a nice run at these she could really turn the class on.
This is a hard race for Hyde, you’ve got more dogs dropping class than ones going up and Hyde has a double upgrade to deal with. If he was to win this he’d need a career best. We’re very excited to see him at this level but we’re also realistic, this is one where we watch and see how he goes.