Oxford Stadium’s racing office previews Cowley Puppy Collar final

We were oversubscribed with entries when first launching this competition and from a field of 48 we now have our six finalists all looking to write their place in OX4 history.

It promises to be an unmissable race, with Elizabeth McNair’s FromPostToPillar the red-hot favourite.

Grand Final 9.04pm: Lively Lauren, Moanteen Lennox, Havana AllABlaze, FromPostToPillar, Romeo Mission, Jasmine Lily.

After clocking 27.04 and 27.21 from his two trials before the Cowley Puppy Collar started, FromPostToPillar really did catch everyone’s eye.

The Kent-based dog was immediately installed as the competition’s ante-post favourite and has lived up to expectation with three dominant wins in as many races.

He has broken – and remains – our 450-metre track record holder and even managed to record the fastest semi-final time (26.93) despite hitting a bit of trouble in the first turn last week.

Everything points to another equally spellbinding performance this evening.

Of FromPostToPillar’s biggest challengers, Lively Lauren in trap one will be looking to make the most of a potentially clear inside run leading up towards and around the opening bends.

Matt Dartnell’s bitch has been a consistent performer around Oxford since making her debut on September 16, winning two of her five races and placing in two more.

Moanteen Lennox in trap two has been flying from the start recently but has a tendency to edge right in his opening strides. A repeat of this could grant Lively Lauren that in-running edge to mount a challenge.

Havana AllABlaze in trap three is the youngest pup in the race. She’s been improving her times every week and last week’s effort (27.18) shouldn’t be ignored.

From the outside boxes, Romeo Mission and Jasmine Lily will both need to reverse their form against FromPostToPillar if they are to claim the £10,000 first prize.

Selection – FromPostToPillar