El Tornillo made history at Oxford, setting a new track record in the second heat of the BetGoodwin Pall Mall over 450m. Dave Lee’s Crayford contender, a son of Dromana Bucko and Slaneyside Darby, clocked an impressive 26.24sec (+10), outperforming the previous record for the four-bend race by a significant margin. His dominant performance saw him finish six and a half lengths ahead of favourite Aero Sacundai, trained by Richie Taberner.
El Tornillo, who previously competed in the Star Sports English Greyhound Derby at Towcester, exited in the second round but showed his prowess at Monmore with a swift 27.88sec over 480m. He is undeniably in peak form.
The BetGoodwin-sponsored Pall Mall began with a win for Nowitsmyturn, trained by Richard Rees. This son of Pestana and Whitings Gift chased down long-time leader Darley Diglake, managed by Robert Hall, to secure a half-length victory in 26.63sec (+10).
King Capaldi, who reached the semi-finals of the Puppy Collar last year, returned to the Cowley track with a solid win. Liz McNair’s charge overtook fast-starter Madabout Peck (Tom Heilbron) to win by two and a half lengths in 26.48sec (+10), although he was later withdrawn due to injury.
Heat four saw an exciting finish with Keefill Maverick, trained by Phil Milner, narrowly defeating favourite Droopys Hanover (Kevin Hutton). Keefill Maverick led initially, conceded to Droopys Hanover, then reclaimed the lead for a short-head victory in 26.37sec (+10).
In heat five, Druids Say Go, a finalist in the Coral Golden Sprint, demonstrated her early speed to edge out Romeo Crusade (David Mullins) and hold off Eze (Angle Kibble) by three-quarters of a length, finishing in 26.54sec (+10). The final heat was won by John Mullins’ Wrighty, who delivered a strong finish to surpass Crossfield Larry (Richie Taberner) and Headford Sonny (Robert Hall) by half a length, completing the race in 26.83sec (+10).