AUTHOR: Lewis Williams
EMILY WALLIS: Greyhound Derby BLOG 10
EMILY WALLIS continues her blogging on the Star Sports Greyhound Derby with the semi finals now complete. Emily reflects on the action lately and looks ahead to the grand finale on Saturday ….
⭐ LATEST STAR OUTRIGHT MARKET, & SPECIALS ⭐
⭐ Here we are at the last week of the Derby for this year, the last six weeks have flown by as they always do and we now know the last six greyhounds that will make up the final for this year. Saturday night promises to be a truly great one with plenty to look forward to but, in particular for the connections of the six finalists, the whole week means so much and is a mix of excitement and nerves ahead of the big night, writes EMILY WALLIS.
It has to be said that this year’s Derby has been a particularly good one; the class of dogs that we started off with in the first three rounds was exceptional and it has been competitive throughout, there has been so many impressive performances from dogs that have been a joy to watch. Adding to this, there has been great crowds for most of the nights which has added to the atmosphere immensely and thankfully all the races have gone off without fault.
⭐ The two semi-finals did not disappoint, although it is gutting for the six connections that got so far but didn’t make the final. The first saw De Lahdedah look back to his best around Towcester after looking in a very tricky position in the quarter-final and qualifying in third, he was chased home by two other strong runners in Whyaye Man and Boylesports Bob giving us the first three finalists. In the second semi-final it was a battle between the early-paced types going towards the first bend in The Other Kobe, King Memphis and Churchfield Syd but it was Churchfield Syd who got there in front and went round and set a very good pace, King Memphis kept him honest all the way to the line but Churchfield Syd held him off well and Ballymac Gizmo ran on for that third qualifying spot.
⭐ The Derby lunch on Monday was, as always, a very good day and it was nice hearing from all the excited and happy connections after the draw was made. First out of the drum was Whyaye Man who will take his place in trap 1, obviously from my own kennel and it is great to be involved in the final. He was bought just before the Derby last year and won his first round heat impressively, it’s fair to say we got a bit excited after that but the dream was soon cut short as he took a tumble at the last bend in the second round after looking like he was running on to qualify. He came back in the Derby plate but was one of the outsiders in the final which was an extremely classy race, he turned in a good position however and got up to win comfortably in the end. Since then he has made multiple big race finals but has always been unlucky with the draws being in either 5 or 6 in all of them. This year he has been a model of consistency, won when he’s had the chance to but always got that qualifying spot, he wouldn’t be the fastest in a lot of races but he’s extremely clever knowing exactly how to get round the bends without trouble. He’s truly got the heart of a lion and we are so proud of him for getting to the final, our first Derby winner, Kinda Ready, went off 28/1 in the final so you can’t rule Whyaye Man out at 20/1 this year.
⭐ Second out of the draw was the first of the two Liam Dowling trained runners, Ballymac Gizmo who had only had 7 races in his entire life before entering the competition so it is no surprise to see him improving and, whatever the result is on Saturday, he is an exciting dog going forward. He is yet to win a round of the competition but it’s happened before where the winner hadn’t won up until the final – there is only one race you need to win! To be fair to him, he’s had no easy heat or round and I think his semi-final run was the most impressive yet; he wasn’t too quick into stride and looked in a little bit of danger around the first two bends but coming home The Other Kobe was tiring and he managed to take full advantage but he also ran two very quick dogs in Churchfield Syd and King Memphis down to about a length and a half. After the race, Liam Dowling said: “I’m thrilled for a young dog, he’s very laid back and shy but showed real guts down the back straight to get into a qualifying position.” It is also nice that he is a homebred but the Ballymac lines in him go back multiple generations all produced by Liam, it is quite remarkable.
⭐ Next came the long time ante-post favourite King Memphis for Liz and Rab Mcnair, he has already been a superstar for connections winning multiple big races and this would have always been the plan for him giving Liz a real chance of a first Derby success. Of course, he would have been bred by Liz and Rab themselves out of their own brood Queen Beyonce and, again, to have your own line like they do and one of the pups be favourite for a Derby final is some achievement. He really announced his arrival last year on the semi-final night being second to New Destiny, he went on to win the Puppy Derby around Towcester and then the Olympic at Hove impressively and was then second in the Kent Plate. He had a perfect run in the Derby not being beaten until last Saturday, this included equalling the track record in the first round and winning a seriously hot third round heat. I don’t think he lost much in defeat however on Saturday, he was led by Churchfield Syd and could never quite find a way around him but chased him hard all the way to the line. You’d have to say the draw has worked out very well for him, trap three could bring a ping break out of him and Whyaye Man and Ballymac Gizmo inside of Memphis most likely won’t be roaring to the first bend, if he was to lead it’d be incredibly hard to catch him.
⭐ LATEST STAR OUTRIGHT MARKET, & SPECIALS ⭐
⭐ The last of the railers to come out of the draw and therefore get trap four was De Lahdedah, Liam Dowling’s second finalist. He has won plenty of races in Ireland in quick times but I’d say he really caught people’s attention in the first couple of rounds of the Juvenile round Shelbourne Park last September, in the first round he came from off the pace picking up Ballinakill Alf and then in the second round he won in an unbelievable 27.78. He perhaps went a little bit off the boil after this and didn’t quite look the same dog but he has a very good person at the end of his lead in Liam and has got to the final of the Derby on merit. He won his first two rounds which included a great run picking up Churchfield Syd and then came second and third in his next two rounds before winning his semi-final leading at the first bend and pulling clear in impressive style. Trap four does look a potentially tricky draw for De Lahdedah especially outside King Memphis but his best break in the competition has come from trap four and he has got all the speed in the world which makes him more than capable of crossing the line in front. The English Derby is something that has eluded Liam Dowling despite multiple finalists so it’s great to see him with two in it this year and connections will really be hoping this is the year.
⭐ Churchfield Syd lines up in trap five as the first of the wide seeds, he is certainly a dog with a story. As a pup he was flying round Monmore before going lame in the semi-final of the Monmore Puppy Derby, he was nursed back by Richard Rees and his team getting to the Gold Cup final but then winning the Kent Derby unbeaten. He then had a second category 1 title stripped away at Monmore after being disqualified from the race but he is back looking at his very best during this Derby. He absolutely fell out the traps in the first round but got through by sticking on the outside, he then got picked up by De Lahdedah in the second round but has improved with each run winning his three races since then including the semi-final last week. He wouldn’t be the fastest dog lining up, he’s only broken 29 seconds twice with a best of 28.96 but when you’re as consistent as he is and have as much early pace as he does that often doesn’t matter as he can get himself to the front and prove tough to pass. On paper, he should be there or thereabouts at the first bend and it could be game on although he hasn’t been out of the six box since his Kent Derby win last October but he’s had three races from five in his life and won all of them! It’s a second consecutive Derby final for Richard Rees too which is a great achievement.
⭐ Finally, in trap six we have Boylesports Bob, another really strong running type. He was flagged up in one of my blogs before the competition as Paul Hennessy’s best chance by their daughter Sarah. Coming over as a lightly raced type, he’d only won two races in Ireland but they were in very quick times and his initial trial round Towcester was promising. He won his first round heat in good style coming from off the pace in a good time but, a little bit like De Lahdedah, it can be hard to know what Boylesports Bob you are getting as in the next couple of rounds he looked a little bit lost but was running on to qualify. Then in the quarter-final he absolutely took off showing more early pace and won by over 10 lengths in 28.68, he got through in third last Saturday but knowing that quarter-final run is in his locker it would give you a lot more confidence. Of course, the Hennessy’s have already won the English Derby twice so they really do know how to get them out and on the top of their game on these big nights.
⭐ The whole card is now out for Saturday and there are 14 super races to look forward to over every distance! All the supporting competitions have been really enjoyable the last couple of weeks and make for some great finals on the night, they will take some winning themselves! We will have to wait all night for it but the Dorando marathon is the last race on the card which is always a thriller, we are very hopeful with our Ballymac Taylor that she can win and get a big race on her card. A lovely touch from Star Sports is that in each race on Saturday, the greyhound chosen as the best turned out will receive £25 and a rosette.
⭐ LATEST STAR OUTRIGHT MARKET, & SPECIALS ⭐
⭐ All throughout the Derby there has been people bringing their retired dogs along to the track aiming to raise money for the rehoming centres and greyhounds currently looking for their forever homes. They will be back this Saturday and the donations are going towards a very good cause, there is also a Gofundme page set up for this same purpose. But of course at the track you get to meet the retired dogs who show off the breed impeccably and love all the attention, I even got reunited with one of my old favourites and marathon superstar Aayamza Royale which was really special.
⭐ Although the racing starts at 6pm on Saturday, the fun can start way before then. Towcester’s gates will open at 2pm where from 2.30pm there’ll be a couple of different singers/groups performing before the racing does start. Then everyone can enjoy the top class racing which finishes just before 10pm and then East 17 will be there to perform afterwards. It should be a really good night and I’m looking forward to seeing what the crowd is like, if the previous rounds are anything to go by then it should be great and the ‘Derby roar’ when the hare starts for the final should be electric.
I hope you have enjoyed my Derby blogs for 2024, I am sad it is almost all at an end! Best of luck to everyone connected with a runner on Saturday night, in particular the Derby finalists – may the best dog win!
EMILY
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