As the first race of the new year, there is some uncertainty as to how the crews will have developed since many of them swept toe-to-toe at the Fours Head back in November. With Womens’ Head and Schools’ Head imminent, Quintin will be a good indicator of their progress and which of them to watch, as well as offering a sort of practice run on the Tideway prior to the upcoming races.
Henley
This cadre from Henley are always one to watch, and given that they took both first and second place in the WJ18 4- category at Fours Head, sweep is clearly a strong point.
Lady Eleanor Holles
With two entries, LEH are likely feeling pretty confident in the new year. However, they’ll have to overturn their most recent result of 7th placing at Fours Head to catch up with some of the other crews.
Headington
Despite their absence at Fours Head, Headington have honed their typically intense focus in line with the new round of Tideway racing, having trained with Leander Club just last week. Headington have a history of success at Quintin as their seniors won this event last time it went ahead, both due to and likely because of their focus on the coming Womens’ Head and Schools’ Head.
Other crews to watch include Emanuel Sch, who came 4th at Fours Head; Surbiton, who proved themselves to have a promising group of seniors at the end of last season, despite not having swept competitively in a while; the two Godolphin and Latymer crews; and Putney High, who followed Emanuel at Fours Head with 5th place.
Prediction
Dare I say as per usual, I reckon it’ll be between Headington and Henley for the top spot, but given Headington’s recent push in their training, they’ll likely take the win. LEH is unusually ambiguous, but they and Emanuel could well work out 3rd and 4th between them.
BoatmanAndRowbin
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