SIMON NOTT betting blog: Towcester Saturday Greyhound Derby Final

Well, it’s here.

It seems like a long time ago I was at the first heats. It is Greyhound Derby Final night, the biggest night in the sport for UK fans.

The teams for the early betting was Lofty, Flynn and Charlie on the main pitch as well as Steve, Tony and Hannah in what would have been part of the racecourse Tattersalls enclosure.

The Greyhound Derby was race 13 on the card so there was plenty to bet on between the opening Puppy £10,000 Match Race opener at 5.47 and the main event at 9.15.

When a punter came in for £600 at 8/13 then another asked for and got £4000 – £6500 the favourite Maree Champion in the two dog race, there was already a buzz about the betting ring.

Hopefully, the jolly winning from Trap 2 wasn’t an omen for how the betting was going to go for the next 12 races.

Wow, hold on a minute, I forgot how lively final night is, the second race on the card saw bets of £7500 – £3000 trap 6 £4000 – £500 trap 4 and £2400 – £1200 trap 2. There was hardly a Dinar for Aero Arran which won from Trap 1. The firm were already in front on the night.

The third race on the card was another frenetic betting heat though the bigger money was for Crossfield Cora with £2000 and £1000 bets at 11/10 and 6/5. That stayed in the hod when the well-backed but not to lumps Millbank Peach won from the red box, another good cop for the good guys.

Just then a plane flew overhead with a silly anti-greyhound racing slogan trailing behind it. Everyone saw it and decided to go home, money well spent by the antis.

Oh no, sorry the crowd just laughed and got stuck into the next while that aviation fuel burned away up in the sky. Signet Goofy opened 4/7 and attracted monkeys and a Nevis at the price as soon as it hit the board.

He won but only lost a grand.

Savana Heross was an absolute stick-on in the next, bets included £4500 – £3000, £1625 – £1000 x 2 £1300 – £800 x 2 £1500 – £1000 £600 – £400 laid on the pitch, the dog obliged and the firm lost £12,000. Nasty.

I was working as a part-time floor man, but Ben gave me a break to go and say hello to Mick Fitzgerald. It was a welcome one too because Lofty is a bit scary when you give him a price. His ‘WHAT?!’ when you are trying to tell him the jolly is ‘on the thumb’ is fearsome. Mind you, he was under the cosh all night.

The firm got £3500 back in the next when the best-backed dog Undulation in the red box trap one got beaten by Fabulous Azurra in trap three, the biggest single bet was ‘just’ £1000 so they did well to win what they did.

Next up and race seven saw a bet of £10,000 – £1000 each-way laid the unplaced Savana Titan. Betting was lighter on the race so the firm had a cheeky cop when odds-on As I Say won as he liked from trap one.

Warzone Tom in the orange jacket of trap five was all the rage with the punters in the next. Bets included £1100 – £800 and monkeys galore. At the off, he was the only loser, for over £5000 and picked up to win off the last bend which halted the change of luck in punishing fashion. I was interviewed by Darrel Williams for RPGTV between races, which was an honour.

Savana Top Cat attracted a bet of £4500 – £3000 in the next. He looked like he might be in trouble a couple of times during the race but battled off all challengers to win. The massive roar from the crowd told the story. The book did its cobblers on an evening that was becoming expensive for the sponsors.

Next up, race 10 and Ben laid a bet of £12,500 – £10,000 for the Irish raider Jacktavern Bella running from trap two. Well, what can you say, oh yes, ‘They knew’. They didn’t see which way she went, as she won unchallenged. The book lost just over £10,000.

Ben whispered to me ‘This is the worst set of results we’ve ever had on Derby night’ as he hopped the fence to smile for the camera with the winning connections. It’s a tough game.

When it’s going wrong it goes wrong. Odds-on Gougane Jet was hard to lay, it was beaten but the book only copped £700. OK that’s normally a good winning race but not when you’ve taken a £10,000 bet on the previous race. Still, it was a winning race so a move in the right direction with the big one looming.

You never know when it’s going to turn. You might have guessed, it turned. Fromposttopillar was smashed in the ring and Brookside Richie wasn’t far behind. At the off the former lost about £8000 and the latter lost £1000.

It turned in style the dog in the blue trap two Whyaye Man won the race, he should be renamed Aye Aye Man, the book got £12,500 back.

🏆 9.15pm Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby Final 500m Flat 🏆

The betting on the feature race was hectic, the ante post already had the Swords Rex losing untold bundles so Ben got to work getting the rest in the book. Romeo Command was all the rage, so much so that at the off he was losing north of £20,000. The other popular selection was Gaytime Nemo at a steady 8/1. Swords Rex hadn’t missed the break all competition but chose the final to do so.

In comparison, Gaytime Nemo bolted out of the traps and wasn’t for catching. It was a fantastic result for the books, but not this book which won a round of drinks in a posh club. Disappointing but at least it wasn’t a losing race. That was until the text came through from Steve, Hannah and Tony’s pitch. They laid £10,500 – £1500 the winner which was a blow to say the least.

What a competition again though, a huge atmosphere from a very enthusiastic crowd to compliment the terrific sport out on the track.

We’re back next year, but you can catch Lofty on a regular basis at Oxford.

Thanks for reading.

SIMON NOTT

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Views of authors do not necessarily represent views of Star Sports Bookmakers.

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Simon Nott is author of: Skint Mob! Tales from the Betting Ring
available on Kindle CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

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