EMILY WALLIS: Greyhound Derby Blog 7

Welcome back to the blog for this week and the second to last one before the Derby is complete with there only being two weeks left of action, writes EMILY WALLIS.

This week we are looking forward to the semi-finals. It’s said every year that it’s a really gutting stage to get knocked out but only six will make it to the big one on the 14th June, and what a day that is building up to be!

⭐ Saturday night at Towcester was such a fantastic evening, the weather was perfect and there was a great crowd. The attendance at the track seems to be building every week and it’s great to see after so much effort has gone into getting people through the doors. Every week you can see groups of people that look new to the sport but are having a great night out; the entertainment/bands afterwards plays such a crucial part as, like I’ve said previously, nobody wants their night to end at 9.15pm. A family fun day looked successful yesterday too, there’s certainly something for everyone.

⭐ Saturday night was Ladies Night at the track, which proved a success despite it being a shame the last lady in the Derby, Singalong Molly, couldn’t make it through to the semi-finals. The nominees for the best dressed award had great fun being interviewed by Hobbsy and Jason Barrasford for Gone to the Dogs, exactly the type of thing that will make them want to come back.

⭐ We were also treated to a track-record run by Lennies Desire in one of the heats of the Derby Plate. A simply sensational run of 28.39! A few years ago we could never have imagined a greyhound going that quick around Towcester’s 500 metres and even a whole second slower would have been a good time but now 28.80s or less is becoming the norm during the Derby. The track was obviously running fairly quick on Saturday but when Lennies Desire came out like he did and led so early, it definitely looked like a race against the clock anyway. Paul and Susan Hennessy were delighted with the run, although maybe thinking if only that was later on in the card in the Derby-quarters themselves.

⭐ I was on duty for Gone to the Dogs on Saturday interviewing the connection who paraded the winning dog at the pickup and it is so lovely to see the faces of those who came second and third too and have made it safely through into the semi-finals. Tom Heilbron had one of the most excited faces with Droopys Bookem running a fantastic race in second in the first quarter-final; he’s a dog who has just looked better and better each week and is representing the north-east very well. The winner he chased home was Cheap Sandwiches, who got the Holland team off to a perfect start; he looks like such a professional dog with great all round pace and definitely deserves his spot as second favourite in the ante-post market. The young, exciting prospect of the race, Sole Mio, also made it through in third and lost nothing in defeat.

⭐ In the second quarter-final we saw another great battle between Churchfield Syd and De Lahdedah, one that we saw a couple of times in last year’s Derby, including the final of course. When De Lahdedah trapped and turned in the position he did, the writing was always on the wall – although it did take him slightly longer to get there this time, but with how the track was running it would have favoured those out in front. With four of last year’s finalists in the draw for the first round this year, it’s great there’s still two of them left and they’re still having thrilling battles a year on. I was so glad that the story continued with Esther Driver’s No Better Feelin, I mentioned in the blog a few weeks ago that his owner and parader bought him when her husband got the all clear from a cancer diagnosis and Diane was another one walking off the track on Saturday with a smile from ear to ear. Paul Sallis, former trainer but still involved in Esther’s kennels, was there on Saturday to cheer the runners on, his first time there since major heart surgery so it’s fitting in so many ways that No Better Feelin, once again, ran a fantastic race to keep the Derby dream alive for them.

⭐ Paul Hennessy kept his good form going from earlier on in the card with Dynamic Force blasting from the traps in the third quarter-final and making all in a very good 28.66, Bombay Pat turned behind him but couldn’t challenge him too much, though did put himself in the hat for next week. Dynamic Force is another dog who seems to have improved with every look at Towcester and is really coming to hand just at the right time. If Paul Hennessy was to be successful in the Derby this year with Dynamic Force he would have to be the first trainer who has won the English Derby three times at three different tracks courtesy of Jaytee Jet winning at Wimbledon and Priceless Blake at Nottingham – that would be an achievement.

⭐ On our X space on Friday night, hosted by Billy Brennan and myself, we had a new guest on in Kim Bergin, owner of Prince Naseem who is trained by Maxine Locke. She spoke really well and the passion for the sport certainly shone through, she would have been screaming Prince Naseem home on Saturday from her Irish base. We will be doing another X space later this week, details will be posted on Star Sports’ X page soon, but if you’re connected with a runner and would like to come on then please do, if not then definitely give it a listen as it’s always good to how much it means to people to be involved.

⭐ We had to wait until the last race to see the ante-post favourite, Bockos Diamond, and what a race it was! He could only come third in the race with Patrick Jansenns having the first two home, a great result for him having had three in what was a very tough race. Slick Sentinel shot out from the traps when they opened, and initially led but Bockos Diamond, after a slow start, took the lead down the back but, this time, just couldn’t hold on coming towards the line and Slick Sentinel came again with Droopys Plunge also doing a lot of running to take second. I don’t think Bockos Diamond lost much in defeat as even being able to lead after the start he had was impressive, he had to work hard to get to the front which could be why he tired coming towards the line. However, I do feel like he will have to start breaking better if he is going to win, but a switch back to trap 6 in the semi-finals should help. Slick Sentinel was laid off for most of the year for the Derby and his improvement throughout is clear to see – a great training performance.

⭐ Finally, I had a good night with my selections in the GWA tipping challenge which hopefully has dug me out of a slight hole, I wish I had Slick Sentinel at double figure odds but I won’t complain too much. Ian Fortune was in the lead before the quarter-finals and will probably prove hard to catch but it’s always good fun, especially with all the supporting races on a Saturday night too.

⭐ Looking ahead to the semi-finals, there are three English trained runners to three Irish trained in both races and also three railers and three wide seeded dogs in each. They both look very good and I can’t wait to see them on Saturday. In the first, De Lahdedah and Churchfield Syd reoppose each other again but this time with Sole Mio, Droopys Bookem, Slick Sentinel and Bombay Pat filling the field – wow!

⭐ In the second semi-final we get to see another clash between the top two in the market in Cheap Sandwiches and Bockos Diamond, Dynamic Force could be a big hazard for them both if trapping like he did on Saturday but they look like they should clear the other inside runners who will be running on late. When they ran together in the third round, they were drawn the other way round with Bockos Diamond in trap 5 and Cheap Sandwiches in trap 6 – could this be an issue? They are two great races though that I am sure will deliver!

⭐ For those lucky enough to qualify on Saturday, they will get to enjoy the Derby lunch held for all the finalists at Towcester next Monday. This is always a great event to attend and makes the week even more special for those with a finalist. I’ll be able to delve into it in next week’s blog including the draw which is always done at the lunch. I wonder how many wide seeds there will be going into it!

⭐ We will find out who will be going into the drum for the final draw next Monday on Saturday, it should be a great night with plenty of supporting competitions going on, again making it a fabulous card. Hopefully we see a good crowd there once again and great racing. To all the semi-finalists, the best of luck!

EMILY WALLIS

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