EMILY WALLIS: Greyhound Derby Blog #3

It’s officially Derby week and we are now just one day away from the best six weeks of the year! writes EMILY WALLIS.

⭐ STARSPORTS.BET GREYHOUND BETTING ⭐

⭐ STAR SPORTS GREYHOUND DERBY 2026 CONTENT ⭐

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⭐ Tomorrow night the traps will open at 6.20pm for the very first heat to start a brilliant weekend of first round action. It’s going to be a fantastic couple of days so make sure that you get to the track if you can as there’s nothing like the Derby atmosphere; if you are heading down then gates open at 4.30pm. 

⭐ Last Friday, the first round draw took place at Towcester and there are many tough heats, as expected with slightly less heats than previous years but still plenty of quality. It has had an impact on the outright market which is looking extremely open! We have three dogs at the top of the market that are all 16/1 in Ballymac Setanta, Proper Heiress and Hackney Corner but there’s plenty not far behind them in the market and it’s certainly all to play for. 

⭐ There were lots of opinions flying around at Mayfair on Tuesday night for the Star Sports Preview Night which always builds excitement further and it’s great to hear people’s thoughts on who could go well in the Derby and potentially all the way. One of the main talking points was what type of greyhound you need for Towcester, some are of the opinion you need a strong running dog which has perhaps been proven in the last few years and particularly last year with Droopys Plunge. Others think that, especially with the recent changes to the track and now that it is running quicker, you need an early pace dog that’s got to be able to lead. It’s an interesting point and it won’t be long until we find out!  

⭐If you haven’t seen the content from our Preview Night, make sure to have a look at the live blog we ran here.  

GREYHOUND DERBY 2026: Mayfair Preview Night – LIVE BLOG

⭐ As I’ve said, there’s so much quality in this year’s Derby and in every first round heat there are dogs capable of making it far. There are some very tough heats though and one that I am very much looking forward to is heat 10 tomorrow evening with the clash of Glengar Silent and Ballinabola Joe, both going for Pat Buckley. Pat certainly wouldn’t have been thrilled with drawing them two together as he fancies both their chances of going deep – it is a heat where four greyhounds qualify for the second round though. 

⭐ Glengar Silent was a finalist in last year’s Irish Derby and looked a hugely exciting prospect, he hasn’t done a whole lot since which has been part of Pat’s plans to keep him fresh. Ballinabola Joe flew in the first two rounds of the English Derby last year and has matured a lot in himself since then, I think he could go far into the competition. This race certainly isn’t just about those two dogs though! Droopys Alldeway for Paul Young did 29.00 at Hove in his last run which is flying, Shudacudawouda is another Irish raider for Brendan Matthews and trialled well in his first look at the track, No Better Feelin got to the semi-finals last year for Esther Driver and clearly loves Towcester and Salacres Lucia is just an October 24 puppy but is well bred and looks and exciting type! 

⭐ There’s some mouth-watering clashes on Saturday too, in Heat 20 Strike It Skye will face one of the most backed dogs in the outright market, Hackney Corner. Strike It Skye didn’t trap at all in the Brighton Belle final last Saturday and trouble at the first bend meant her race was over, she’s so fast though and her last trial at Towcester saw her doing a 28.53 calculated! In my kennel visit with Pat Buckley, he expressed how much he thinks of Hackney Corner and he lines up in trap 4 in this heat hoping to keep plenty of antepost tickets alive. If Strike It Skye can improve on her trapping it could be a great battle! Again, not discounting the others in the race, particularly Droopys Trade for Craig Morris, who I also went to see for a kennel visit, he was a quarter-finalist last year and trialled very well at the track last week.

⭐ Another good clash looks to be Underground Gold vs Romeo Tomcat. There’s a big difference in experience levels between the two which may play a part but Underground Gold was so impressive in the Monmore Puppy Derby and I can’t wait to watch him run again! Romeo Tomcat has a great CV including the Derby Plate last year, he’s got all round pace and comes home strong and he looks to be the leading hope of last year’s winning trainer, Patrick Janssens. 

⭐ For my last Kennel Visit of the year, I went to see Paul Young earlier on this week for some last-minute Derby insight. It was brilliant to chat to him and get his thoughts on his large team of 10! Underground Gold perhaps heads the team but they’re all very talented and versatile and Paul claimed that it’s his best team yet for the English Derby.

GREYHOUND DERBY 2026 KENNEL VISIT: Paul Young

⭐ You can already get stuck into all the heats on the Star Sports website and there’s also specials up as well as the market for the Star Sports/GWA Media Derby Tipping Challenge which is back again this year! Ian Fortune, a multiple winner of the competition, heads the market at 7/1 but I think there’s plenty of value to be found further down the list!  

⭐ There’s lots of young and exciting dogs trying to win the Derby trophy this year but there’s also plenty of older and more experienced types in there too and we have 11 of last year’s quarter-finalists taking their chance in the competition this year. Faypoint Harvey for Graham Holland is taking his place in the competition for the third consecutive year! 

⭐ Speaking of Graham Holland, his team is incredibly strong as always. He has a mix of experience in his team with the likes of Bockos Diamond and Cheap Sandwiches who are both four years old this year but also slightly lesser known types like Low Profile and Swords Style, although we do know him a lot more now with him winning the Juvenile a couple of weeks ago! His three finalists were first, second and third going down the back straight last year but it wasn’t to be but he’s once again turning up to Towcester with a very strong hand and it’d be surprising to see him without at least one finalist, even at this early stage. 

⭐ There’s not too much time to get your ante-post bets on before the first round and the dogs start to shorten, if you bet £25 or £25 each way with Star Sports on the outright market, you’ll receive a ‘Star Dog’ which is a randomly selected greyhound which, based on their performance, will win you Free Bets! Click here for more info and the full T&Cs! 

⭐ The Derby dream for all connections with a runner in the competition is like no other. Best of luck to all greyhounds in the first round this weekend! It’s set to be a brilliant couple of days. 

⭐ For pre and post race interviews from the track, make sure to keep an eye on our social media feed as I’ll be there for every round. 

Bring it on! 

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