Mark Wallis's kennel dominated the opening round of the Coral Coronation Cup over 575m at Romford on Friday, securing four wins out of six heats in the prestigious £10,000-to-the-winner competition.
Leading the charge was ante-post favourite New Destiny, who set the standard with an all-the-way victory over Maxine Locke’s Ballintee Noshow, clocking an impressive 34.82 seconds.
Following this, kennelmate Minnie Bullet regained her winning form in heat two, taking advantage of the withdrawal of favourite Droopys Eunice to win in 35.41 seconds. Although Belinda Green’s Baywatch Bullet and Nathan Hunt’s Droopys By Amile closed in late, Minnie Bullet maintained her lead.
Wallis completed a hat-trick with Fabulous Sonique in heat three. Despite strong finishes from Nathan Hunt’s Untold Paanga and Allowdale Cazoo, Fabulous Sonique led from start to finish, winning in 35.75 seconds.
However, Wallis's streak faced a setback in heat four when Ranchers Wolf was disqualified for aggressive interference, finishing third. This disqualification leaves trap two in the second semi-final vacant. The heat was won by John Mullins-trained Tromora Rex, who took advantage of the trouble ahead to finish in 35.45 seconds.
Wallis returned to form in heat five, with Ballymac Diana leading from start to finish and winning in 35.18 seconds.
The final heat saw Hove raider Swift Radiantly, trained by Seamus Cahill, securing a 10-1 victory by leading early and finishing in 35.36 seconds. She crossed the line ahead of Nathan Hunt’s Cooladerry Dust and another Wallis runner, Ballymac Johnjo.
Trap Draw for Friday’s Coral Coronation Cup Semi-Finals - Romford, 575m:
First Semi-Final:
- New Destiny (Mark Wallis)
- Baywatch Bullet (Belinda Green)
- Untold Paanga (Nathan Hunt)
- Annual Bono (Paul Young)
- Allowdale Cazoo (m) (Nathan Hunt)
- Hazelhill Coco (w) (Carl Jackson)
Second Semi-Final:
- Swift Radiantly (Seamus Cahill)
- Vacant
- Droopys By Amile (Nathan Hunt)
- Ballintee Noshow (Maxine Locke)
- Joes Sagar (m) (Belinda Green)
- Cooladerry Dust (m) (Nathan Hunt)
Third Semi-Final:
- Minnie Bullet (Mark Wallis)
- Miami Bullet (Paul Young)
- Fabulous Sonique (Mark Wallis)
- Ballymac Diana (m) (Mark Wallis)
- Tromora Rex (m) (John Mullins)
- Ballymac Johnjo (w) (Mark Wallis)