Droopys Bookem carries the highest composite score on tonight's Newcastle card at 66, which puts him at the top of the RateThatDog ratings for today's racing. The November 2022 brindle dog, trained by T C Heilbron, runs at 19:44 in an Open grade 480-metre contest from trap 3.
His form figures from his two peak Newcastle runs tell you what he's capable of: back in February he won OR3 races here in 28.46 and 28.89 on successive outings. Those are quick times. Since then he has been testing himself at a higher level — OR1 at Sheffield and OR2 at Towcester — and the results have been tougher, with finishing positions of fifth and sixth. Those runs were at different venues, different trips, and in stronger fields. The Towcester outing was over 712 metres, a marathon trip that is about as different to 480 metres as you can get in greyhound racing.
Back here at Newcastle tonight, over a trip and at a venue where he has won twice in quick succession, the picture changes considerably. His track familiarity is baked into that composite score. From trap 3, which historically wins 22.4% of 480-metre races at this track, he is in a competitive draw position.
His opposition tonight includes Carsethorn (trap 1, composite 54), Glengar Vegas (trap 4, composite 51), and Blackhouse Lewi (trap 2, composite 53) — none of them close to his 66 rating. The model rates this as a genuinely winnable race, and the conditions tick the right boxes.