The BGBF Scurry got underway on Sunday afternoon at Henlow with four first round heats staged over the 428m trip. Anybody hoping to get rich was probably in for a shock as the winning sp’s of 8/1 three times and 7/1 would likely suggest.

Queen Adele was sent off a short odds 1/2 favourite to land heat one for John Lambe, not only did she fail to land the odds but she was eliminated from the competition in last place. After missing the break, Adele paced up well and ran a good first two bends, however just at the point she was about to open up down the back straight and make a move past Paul Young’s Bubbly Yolo, she was involved in bad crowding with that rival and was shuffled to the back of the pack and out of the competition. Westcot Norman, an 8/1 chance, hadn’t been perfectly away for Jonathan Blencowe, but he kept himself out of trouble out wide and soon put himself into contention As Yolo and Adele came together off the second bend, Norman shot to the lead and put the race to bed in a matter of strides. Yolo took off after him but was beaten by 1 1/2 in 2659. Peter Harnden’s Salacres Barley took the third and final qualifying place on what was a very promising return to the track after injury. Initially leading from his trap 3 draw, he was involved in bad crowding at the turn and shuffled to last position. Barley soon regained his stride however and picked up Jim Hayton’s Lowgate Tom near the line to go through to next week’s semi final.

If you want a good example of how to run this 428m trip at Henlow then look no further than Pat Curtin’s Commanche Storm who produced a 7/1 demolition job in heat two. Storm simply smashed the bars down and led all the way to win by 2 3/4 lengths in 2654 from Jim Hayton’s Lowgate Rudy in second. Salacres Flyer, usually a smash breaker at home track Nottingham, missed her break here and did well to qualify in third place a further 3 lengths off the leader. Definable, Down To The Felt and Rackitup Charlie were all involved in first bend scrimmaging and could never get competitive.

Viking Jerry put a run of poor form behind him with a similar smash break always led victory in heat three at what now look like very generous odds of 8/1. Scorching to victory in a fastest of the first round 2617, he was a welcome winner for Jim Hayton. The remaining runners were all involved in first bend crowding, Harrys Legend showed bravery and determination at the first bend to free himself of crowding, he finished second beaten 6 1/4 lengths for Angie Kibble whilst Signature Dancer, sent off the 7/4 favourite, eventually escaped the crowding and ran on to qualify in third place. There is more to come from Michelle Brown’s youngster.

Heading into heat four, punters at the track were hoping for a miracle and found that on this occasion it wasn’t delivered. Bubbly Majestic for Romford trainer Paul Young wasn’t too badly away but it was Dean’s Hail Mary for champion trainer Mark Wallis who set the pace. Mary led until the last bend but supporters would have been in no doubt about their fate when seeing Majestic still closely behind. Despite being unsure which side of Mary to go initially, Majestic eventually decided to tread a path up the inside and powered away to score by 3 lengths in 2645. Let Me Tell you ran on for second, beating the fading Deans Hail Mary by a head.

Full Semi Final draw, along with a preview of the races will appear on the site in the coming week. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported the competition today and congratulations to all qualifiers, best of luck in the Semi Finals!