Gymstar Elusive Can Give the Champion Stakes Field the Slip

Romford stages its annual Coral Champion Stakes final on Friday night. A £10,000 winner’s prize and a place on the Roll of Honor that dates back to 1947 await the victor. The bookmakers can barely separate the six finalists in the betting. Any one of five dogs could start as favorite in the six-bend contest.

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Romford has staged the Champion Stakes since 1988. © GettyImages.

The most successful Champions Stakes trainer, with four previous winners, is Mark Wallis. The multiple champion trainer has two finalists in the 2021 field – Bo Shine Bullet and Bombardier – but he was not oozing confidence when speaking to BestBettingSites.com earlier in the week.

Short of Early Toe

“My two are both dropping down in trip,” said Wallis. “They are really classy dogs. Bo Shine Bullet won the category one Kent St Leger at Crayford and Bombardier was arguably unlucky not to make the final of the St. Leger at Perry Barr last month.”

“However, my pair need a stiff six-bend trip to be seen at their best and because of that, they might be short of early toe in this field. Looking at the makeup of the race there is every chance the first bend leader will take the trophy.”

A lack of early pace should not be his biggest concern. In a final that features five runners that are classified as railers, Wallis’ two representatives have fared worst in the draw. Bo Shine Bullet goes from trap four, and Bombardier is housed in five.

Agreeing to their starting boxes being a handicap the eleven-time champion trainer conceded: “If we had of got a draw in one or two it is possible one of mine could have slipped the field at the opening bend. But as it stands Night Time Danny [trap 3] and Gymstar Elusive [trap 6] looked to have fared best in that department”.

Winless Path to Final Does Not Concern Coral

The dog that does have the luxury of trap 1 in the decider is David Mullins’ Kishlawn Shakira. The only unbeaten finalist in the field, the locally-trained eight-time winner has everything in his favor – apart from times! The clock shows four of Kishlawn Shakira’s rivals have recorded better times than him during the previous two rounds of the competition.

Ironically, on a similar theme, Night Time Danny has yet to win a round of the Champion Stakes. Nevertheless, big race sponsor Coral, make him their marginal favorite at 3/1. The winner of the St Leger three weeks ago, he has done well to qualify for this final following some serious bumps and crowding.

But, as Mark Wallis underlines, much depends on which greyhound can safely negotiate the opening bend. In our opinion Gymstar Elusive fits the bill. He goes from trap 6.

Officially seeded as a middle-runner, the rare blue-colored dog showed a fine burst of early speed to take a decisive early lead in his semi-final. From that point, he never looked like being caught. He also steered a middle-to-wide path throughout. This could prove invaluable at any one of the pinch points at this notoriously tricky circuit.

With 9/2 available at Betfair and Paddy Power sportsbooks, Gymstar Elusive looks great value.

Blueberry Bullet Aiming at Marathon Glory

On the same Sky Sports televised card at 8.17 pm, Blueberry Bullet is less of a value proposition and more of a strong fancy. Another from the Mark Wallis academy, this lady went off as the favorite in the St Leger final. She started 2/5 in her heat of this marathon competition.

In both races, she was beaten but there were valid reasons for her defeat and in her second attempt at an eight-bend marathon trip she is not expected to make any mistakes. Coral is offering 11/8 about the trap 3 runner.

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