Excitement Builds for Gold Collar Semi-Finals at Crayford

Crayford’s racing manager, Danny Rayment, is eagerly anticipating Sunday’s semi-finals of the Jay & Kay Coach Tours Gold Collar, a prestigious classic in the greyhound racing calendar. Rayment expressed his gratitude to new sponsor Karl Brazier for continuing to support the event, which has a rich history in the sport.

Rayment reflected on the event’s legacy, noting its special significance to him since its move to Crayford following Catford’s closure. He praised Brazier, describing him as a fantastic supporter of greyhound racing, and highlighted his company’s long-standing backing of events such as the Kent St Leger. Now sponsoring the Gold Collar, alongside the Ladbrokes Grand National, Brazier has helped create strong Sunday open-race programs.

While acknowledging challenges with kennel strength that have affected weekday schedules, Rayment shared his satisfaction with the Sunday cards, which have consistently attracted quality entries. Both the Gold Collar and Grand National heats featured impressive performances, including standout runs from Aayamza Sydney and Bangon The Clock, yet the evenly matched times across heats suggest a competitive set of semi-finals.

The fastest heat winner in the Gold Collar was John Mullins’ Aayamza Sydney, a seasoned big-race finalist, who surged clear after the fourth bend to secure a commanding five-and-three-quarter-length victory over Empress Of Rome in 33.56sec (+30) for the 540m trip.

Monmore raider Bangon The Clock, trained by Richie Taberner, clocked the next best time in heat six. Breaking away after the second bend, he scored a three-length win over Bockos Sapphire in 33.58sec (-30).

The event opened with a local success as Moaning Rossi, trained by Darren Whitton, finished strongly to claim heat one in 33.81sec (+30). Nathan Hunt secured an impressive double on the night with Icemans Girl, an Oaks runner-up, overtaking Ricky Holloway’s Slick Sabo late in heat two to win in 33.78sec (+30), and Allowdale Cazoo, who narrowly edged Wrighty (John Mullins) in heat five with a time of 33.60sec.

Tony Welch’s Savana Moo took control from the start in heat three, winning in 33.84sec (+30) over Ballymac Kinga (Belinda Green) and kennelmate Antigua Bubble.

As the semi-finals approach, the stage is set for thrilling competition, with the evenly matched runners promising an exciting battle for the Gold Collar title.