Slippy Keith lines up in the 14:29 at Sheffield in a Grade IV over 500 metres, and the composite score of 64 makes him the joint-highest rated dog across today's cards. Trained by R A Draper, the three-year-old black dog has been a regular in competitive company at Sheffield and Doncaster through the spring, and his recent record tells a story of a dog who can mix it at levels above his current grade.
His form reads 4-1-2-5-2-1 across his last six outings. That single blemish of a fifth came when something clearly went wrong at Sheffield on 3rd May, with no time recorded. Either side of it, he won a Grade IV at Sheffield in 29.11 on the 17th and placed second in an Open Race at Doncaster in 29.69. That's genuine class. An OR place followed by a comfortable IV win suggests he's operating well within himself at this level.
Drawing trap 3 today looks fine without being ideal. The real opposition is Timmys Hunter (trap 5), who shares that same composite score of 64 and will be right there from the off. The rest of the field sit around the 43-44 range, so this looks like a two-dog contest on the numbers.
What tips the balance towards Slippy Keith is the recent winning form at this track and distance. He broke his maiden in a IV here back in April, came back and won again three weeks ago, and clearly handles the 500-metre trip. If he reproduces that 29.11 effort, the others need to find something extra.