If you asked most in the know here who is the best dog we have over 540m, the chances are that the answer you would get would be Phat Mary trained by Julie Luckhurst.

The dog has won eight of her 16 Crayford races which is a high strike rate but when you take into account that she usually runs against the best, her record is admirable.

She is lightly raced given that including her previous Irish races, she has run just 19 times in 14 months but the patience shown to her is now certainly reaping reward.

The dog won her first Open race here in mid-February in scintillating style having returned from a three-month break over winter so this win, although no surprise, was an excellent effort given that she was still gaining race fitness.

She flew out of the traps, recording a fast sectional time of 12.72sec for the first 160m before crossing the line five lengths clear.

It takes a good dog to do not only that level of sectional time but also to go under 34sec at the line (33.67). There is much to look forward to with her over the coming months, not only for her connections but also for racegoers at Crayford.

We have eight grades of ability over both the 380m and 540m distances and by design the higher up the ladder you climb, the more competitive and difficult the opposition become.

The choice of who is best over 380m seems constantly to be changing hands race by race. Currently you would have to include Stepit Up Louie and Highview Blonde.

Louie has risen quickly up the grades having started in grade A6 in early October, winning his first top grade A1 race in early January.

The dog makes the most of his wide trap draw, running from either trap five or six and has shown that he can go under the 3.60sec sectional time, which is the sort of early pace needed to win an A1 race.Early days for him but he is sure to figure prominently over the coming weeks.

Highview Blonde is an experienced grader with nearly 60 career races to date and has won 12 times, five of those in the top grade.

She rarely runs a bad race and is another that often goes under the 3.60 barrier which generally gets her in the frame and she is overdue a win.