Trainer Nick Colton has his eye on next year’s Springbok Hurdle with the purchase of Victoria Falls from fellow trainer Richard Baker.

Victoria posted 28.60secs at Wimbledon last year, despite sustaining an injury in the process.

He returned for a further trial recently over two bends and posted a handy 17.00.

He was immediately snapped up by Colton for an undisclosed sum.

Baker’s top-class bitch, Kates Noble Style, who recorded a 29.00 trial, has drawn trap six in the first round of the Oaks at the south London track.

Last year’s runner-up, Freedom Emma, trained by Richard Yeates, goes from trap four in her heat.

Meanwhile, trainer Johnny Mayo is cock-a-hoop after receiving planning permission which will double his kennel capacity.

Elsewhere, Yeates’s Jell On Chavie has completed a hat-trick of victories.

THE Oxfordshire Trophy, the final leg of the ‘big-three’ at Sandy Lane track, has been put back until January.

Sponsors Property Care Complete Maintenance are snowed under with contracts.

As they are unable to attend the agreed staging, management have agreed to defer the event until the new year.

This was the final leg last year where the now Colton-trained Jolly Poacher won the unique treble of Maiden Derby, Oxfordshire Stakes and Oxfordshire Trophy.

With sponsors hard to find, there are doubts as to whether the Maiden Derby will go ahead next year, but efforts are being made to keep it.

OXFORD Stadium will be hosting some racing on Tuesday, but not greyhounds.

Stadium announcer Andy Lisemore is organising a Race Night in aid of the Oxford Retired Greyhound Trust with an eight-race horse racing card getting under way at 7.30.

OXFORD Stadium boss Maureen Ridley is upbeat about the forthcoming Christmas period.

The Grandstand restaurant us sold out for the next three Saturday’s, and combined with the extra Friday meetings, which are selling fast, it looks like being a good end to the year following a successful October.

The hugely popular Boxing Day meeting already has 250 bookings for the ‘Brunch’ with few spaces left.

The admission price of £6 has been frozen from last year with children £3 and under 6s admitted for free.

It starts at 11am and will be a 14-race meeting.

Staff at Oxford Stadium were in a flap last Saturday night when over 200 race cards were printed incorrectly. With more than a thousand people piling through the doors, the turnstile staff had to check the programmes, leading to large queues, but in the end nobody missed out. There will be racing on the next three Fridays, December 3, 10, and 17.