EMILY WALLIS: Greyhound Derby Blog 7

EMILY WALLIS continues her weekly blogging of the 2023 Star Sports Greyhound Derby which reaches the semi-final stage at Towcester on Saturday …

⭐ The Derby is now coming to its final stages which seems a shame as it is such a fantastic time of year for everyone involved in the sport but we still have two semi finals on Saturday to look forward to and, whoever qualifies from them, the final a week on Saturday is going to be high class and part of a great finale to a fantastic six weeks. As well as this, we had some great supporting competitions start on Saturday and Sunday at Towcester and they too are very good and should be enjoyed by all.

⭐ The first quarter final last Saturday was won in good style by Romeo Command (pictured below) who once again managed to trap well and get himself to the front early much to the relief of his supporters as he is strong over the distance. Although drawn in trap 5, he proved to everyone that he is a smart dog keeping straight on the run to the first bend, Patrick Jansenns was delighted with his performance saying “What can you say about him? He is ultra professional and has come out of the race well and is ready to go on Saturday. I think the make up of the race is good and I have everything crossed we can finish in the first 3.” In the last quarter final Patrick qualified his other runner remaining in Romeo Top Gun who ran a great race coming second to Swords Rex, on him Patrick said “He ran a great race from behind and has a good draw to work from in the semi finals, he’ll have to lead up Savana Beau and Jacktavern Bella but he is very strong from half way, it would just be brilliant to get one in the final and keep the Derby dream alive.”

⭐ A greyhound that is running out of his skin the last couple of weeks and who looks like he is improving all the time is Burj Khalifa, he turned second behind Romeo Command in the first quarter final and never let him get too far away. It has to be respected that he was always going to get a great draw in the semi-finals and final if he qualifies being the only wide runner remaining. He is showing great early and middle pace and seems strong enough too making him hard to keep out of the frame. I have certainly loved watching him progress throughout the competition.

⭐ There was definitely a surprise winner in the second quarter finals when Mystical Mario bolted out of the traps and showed his fantastic early pace to lead all the way with Clona Duke turning a close enough second but was unable to reel him in. Although, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised… Mario certainly has very good breeding out of Droopys Jet and Mystical Moll, he’s lightly raced for his age and has some good form to his name including a 28.07 time at Perry Barr not long before the Derby. His trainer John Lambe has also stressed throughout his interviews during the Derby that he likes to have his dogs on the backfoot in the early rounds and to try and take your chance of getting through in the hope of improving as it goes on which is clear to see with Mystical Mario. He has a less than ideal draw in trap 5 in the semi finals but it certainly doesn’t seem impossible to see him lead up with his great early pace and he could improve once again.

⭐ The third quarter final again threw up a slight shock when it saw the elimination of Ballymac Marino for Liam Dowling. Not coming away from the traps, he tried to pace up but found first bend crowding that he couldn’t overcome. The winner of the race, Gaytime Nemo, was another that was smart enough to keep his line to the first bend from a trap 5 draw and was an impressive winner and only one spot slower than his kennelmate Swords Rex. It has been no secret that he has been a dog with injury problems and the first round of the Derby was his first race since the start of January, Graham and wife Nicky certainly seem to have got him sound and in great form and for that reason he is another greyhound that was bound to improve as the competition went on and that is what he has done. Any repeat performances of last Saturday could see him go very close in the competition.

⭐ Swords Rex (pictured below) once again showed his talent and love for Towcester in the last quarter final breaking well and leading all the way and is now as short as 6/4 with Star Sports to be crowned this years Derby champion and if he can keep doing what he has been doing so far in the competition it does seem hard to see that not happening. Ballymac Finn gave Liam Dowling a semi finalist after the disappointment of Ballymac Marino being eliminated, it is fair to say we haven’t seen the Ballymac Finn that was the Irish Derby runner up at Towcester yet but he deserves his place in the semi finals and has a man that certainly knows what he’s doing at the other end of the lead, it wouldn’t be overly surprising to see him put in a better performance in the semi finals and he will need to if he wants to make it to the final.

⭐ We now know the winner of the best bitch in the Derby after Jacktavern Bella was third behind Gaytime Nemo last Saturday and Fabulous Azurra was eliminated in fourth place in her quarter final. She may have surprised connections with how far she has reached in the competition as it was said they were thinking of running her over six bends on finals night, but they would be delighted to have her through to the semi-finals and it would be no surprise if people had bet her in the best bitch market after some ultra impressive Derby trial stake wins before the competition. It would be great to see a bitch reach the final and with how she is running you wouldn’t be surprised but with two strong stayers themselves in Romeo Top Gun and Savana Beau inside of her she cannot afford to get too far behind.

⭐ Preparations for the Derby Lunch next Monday are well underway despite not knowing who the six finalists will be until Saturday night. They are always such a fantastic event and kick off the most exciting week of the year for greyhound fans and to get a finalist and attend the lunch is simply a great experience. Kim Sanzone from Star Sports and playing a big role in the organisation of the lunch said “At this year’s lunch we are planning to embrace the history of this iconic race and will welcome some special guests to help us celebrate, we will be in touch with the six finalists on Sunday. We are expecting up to a 100 people on the day and it will be streamed via our site and filmed for RPGTV.” You won’t want to miss it as it’s a great build up for the weekend and of course will include the all important draw for the final.

⭐ As well as the quarter finals of the Derby last Saturday, we enjoyed the heats of the Derby Plate which this year seems particularly hot. The first heat was a thriller to say the least, Brookside Richie wasn’t the best out of the traps but showed his fantastic early and middle pace to go clear but former Derby favourite Fromposttopillar got a much clearer run than he did in the first round of the main event and managed to turn in a position and reel in Brookside Richie. The second heat was won by Arkady who we know is a fantastic racer and likes the track with Whyaye Man running well in second a length behind the winner. There was definitely a few gambles landed in the third heat where Thunder Black was a trap to line winner for Seamus Cahill and the last heat was won by the very talented Rioja Joey who was fancied to go well in the Derby but made an early exit after unfortunately stumbling out of the traps in the first round.

⭐ We also saw some great performances in the heats of the Greyhound Trader Stakes as well as the heats of the BGBF British Bred Champion Stakes on Sunday and we can look forward to the semi finals all being on Saturday night as the excitement continues to build for the finals night. As well as this we are sure to have some other hot races on Saturday with dogs preparing for the big night next week, both this Saturday and certainly next Saturday are filled with class all throughout the card and hopefully there will be large crowds at Towcester to enjoy the action.

⭐ The semi finals are certainly something to be excited for and connections will be thinking one more run until the big one but of course it is a gutting time to be eliminated so close to making the final but there will also be six very happy and excited connections, I can’t wait to find out who they are and good luck to everyone involved!

I’ll be back next week looking ahead to the final,

EMILY WALLIS

📷 Thanks to Steve Nash Photography for feature image.

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