It could be third time lucky for Apple Seed the next time she goes to traps.

The ex-Brighton racer has had two races here so far for new trainer Steve Gammon and the dog is likely to go one better after finishing third in her first race followed by a decent runner-up finish at the weekend.

I might be taking a chance here as her career record shows that, despite having had 20 races, she has yet to win.

Fortunately, the dog is unaware of these statistics and she has been giving every indication that for her this will prove to be a winning venue.

One of my favourite dogs here, Jiggle Wiggle, returned to the race card after a three-month absence due to her seasonal rest and it was pleasing to see her put in her usual determined effort which saw her only beaten by two lengths.

She is as genuine as they come and rarely puts in a bad performance.

When you consider that she only had two trials prior to racing again after a lengthy lay-off you just have to admire her enthusiasm.

I hope that it is repaid when she next runs. She will go close.

If you are looking for a progressive dog then look no further than Mineola Hobson, trained by Patsy Cusack.

The dog’s first race here was in mid January and, in the 12 weeks since, he has risen from grade A6 up to top grade A1.

Having won in the previous five grades, which is no mean feat in such a short space of time, he took his chance among the elite at the weekend.

This was never going to be easy for him but to his credit he managed to lead his illustrious opponents away from the traps and around the first two bends.

The pace of the opposition then came into play which saw him being caught, only to be bumped at the third bend, followed by being crowded out of affairs at the last bend.

It’s certainly rough at the top and when you consider the quality of the dogs that he raced against here this was an admirable effort.

He will have learnt a lot from this race and, if he is given a little more time, I am of the opinion that not only will he win an A1 race but will go onto be a competitor here in Open races – take note, folks!