Belle Vue Colts Steal Victory

REPORT Saturday 21st May 2016, 1:52am

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The young Monarchs Select side were pipped 43-45 in a very closely fought Intermediate Level challenge match against the Belle Vue Colts at Armadale tonight.

There was a reasonable attendance for such an event especially as the weather did us no favours again, and there were numerous talking points with the performance of several riders under scrutiny.

Questions for historians: Has any team ever won a match with their riders numbered 1 to 6 winning no heats at all? We don’t know the answer before tonight but it did happen in this match with Colts’ no 7 Daniel Bewley winning 6 races on his 17th birthday!

It was an intriguing demonstration of the ability which has made Dan the talk of the National League already this season. His method was to produce killer first corners to get ahead down the back straight, and ride quickly but carefully thereafter to give no-one a chance to catch him.

It was enough to beat regular senior Monarchs Max Clegg and Jye Etheridge, both of whom rode well, and also former Monarchs William Lawson and Mitchell Davey. Former British Under-18 Champion Lawson was unbeaten when he came up against Bewley in heat 9, but William missed the start and came off at the back.

Decent weather would have helped the youngsters but they didn’t get it. A steady drizzle made the track increasingly tricky and there were a few fallers. Even Max Clegg came off when he was trying to pass the visiting pair Williamson and Payne in heat 13, a race well won by Etheridge.

There was never more than three points between the sides, and scores were level going into the last race. Could Bewley complete his maximum against Edinburgh team mates Clegg and Etheridge? He made the start from gate three and was never challenged, and it looked like the match would be drawn until Jye Etheridge tried an unwise lunge into the last turn. He went straight across the bend and into the fence, handing the win to the Colts.

The three young Scots on the home side, Dale Lamb, Kev Whelan and Lewis Millar found the going tough against NL opposition. Although Lamb didn’t score and picked up an injury in heat 8, he was the one who got closest to matching the opposition. Kev Whelan pointed out that he was continually required to lay down by a fallen rider in front of him! It was good experience for them all.

The meeting was well presented in just over 90 minutes and everyone deserves credit for getting on with the job as the drizzle fell.

Full Result Details