Taberner lines up a shot at Winter Derby with Aero Pattika
Monmore trainer Richie Taberner has one eye on next month’s Ladbrokes Winter Derby as Aero Pattika competes in a high-quality Category Three final this evening.
Pattika won in impressive fashion last weekend for the Wombourne-based Taberner to make tonight’s Ladbrokes.com 480 showpiece (8.47pm), worth £1,000 to the winner.
The race acts as something of a warm-up for the prestigious Winter Derby – a 36-greyhound competition and one of four Category One events held at Monmore annually – which gets underway on February 8.
That event will see a cool £10,000 awarded to the victor and Taberner hopes Pattika can be involved having previously shone over shorter distances.
“Pattika is a class animal and has Derby quality pace to 450m. We’re just hoping now that he’s two years old he’s got that bit more stamina,” said Taberner on Pattika, who made the National Sprint final at Nottingham at the back end of 2024. “If he can mature into a proper 480m dog, he will be a big player for all major competitions over four bends.
“Hopefully, he can give the Aero Racing Syndicate a bit of silverware to enjoy by winning this final.”
Pattika, who turned two last September, has 40 races under his belt and won 14 of those, with seven second-place finishes as well.
He runs from trap three tonight while fellow Monmore handler Nathan Hunt has Clona Stand in six - the rest of the field coming from away trainers.
Ahead of next month’s Winter Derby, Taberner also has Coologue Pest and Aero Becks showing promise over four bends.
They both run this evening as well, with Pest in the Ladbrokes.com 480 Division One and Becks in the Ladbrokes.com 480 Division Three. They are the last and first races on tonight’s card respectively.
“Pest only raced A1 and Open races throughout 2024 at Monmore and that’s special, staying at the top for 12 months. He won 12 races along the way as well,” added Taberner. “He’s a bang railer and needs trap one in an ideal world, but if he can get across from trap three with a fast exit and lead at the first bend, he will be tough to beat.
“Becks has a tremendous strike rate and a real will to win.
“She’s excelled on both the graded and Open race circuit for owners Rachael Biggs and Nick Clifford who are very proud.”
Also tonight, a Category Three sprint competition gets underway with three heats – two dogs advancing from each to next week’s final. Brian Thompson’s super-consistent Knock Beeswing is among those involved.
Kim Billingham-Hine’s Phoenix Posh hopes to impress in the Ladbrokes.com 480 Maiden while Jonis Taxi steps up for Gary Griffiths in the Ladbrokes.com 630 Maiden. Pat Doocey pair Longacres Drip and Hilton Wolf look to do the business in the Ladbrokes.com 630 and Ladbrokes.com 480 Division Two respectively.
