Our greyhound expert Barry Caul previews a thrilling weekend of top-class greyhound racing, with major competitions taking place across three venues. Shelbourne Park, Hove, and Towcester!
Shelbourne Park – Friday
At Shelbourne Park, the rescheduled opening round of the Time Juvenile Derby will be held on Friday night, showcasing some of the most exciting young talent in the sport.
The Time Greyhound Nutrition Puppy Derby gets underway at Shelbourne Park on Friday evening and has attracted a top-class entry. The Celtic Cooling Refrigeration & Air Conditioning unraced stake champion Ballymac Stud is expected to go well, while Droopys Painting is another big name likely to feature.
The first of eight opening-round heats kicks off at 7:34 and will be broadcast live on SIS. Ballymac Mint and Sunshine Sioux look the two to focus on in the opener. Ballymac Mint won by a remarkable seventeen lengths last time out and is likely to start favourite, but Sunshine Sioux is an improving performer, and I fancy him to edge out the favourite in the opener.
The unbeaten Sallagh Curley will have plenty of supporters in the second heat, but this highly promising youngster will need to be special to lower the colours of Carrick Scholsey on his Dublin debut. Solo And Go is another with claims.
Heat three sees the much-talked-about Droopys Painting in action. He lived up to the hype with a flying 28:13 debut success but took a heavy fall next time out, so it remains to be seen whether that’s left a mark. Glengar Silent, who landed a hot puppy event last weekend, could be the safer option.
Hove – Saturday
On Saturday evening, attention turns to Hove, where both the Premier Greyhound Racing Regency and the Sussex Cup get underway with six heats apiece.
The Regency opens at 18:08 with a strong first heat featuring Bombay Nutty and Breton Molly, and it’s the former who is fancied to come out on top. In the second heat, the unbeaten Romeo Empire looks tough to beat over six bends, with Soul Chance expected to follow him home.
The third features the excellent Mongys Wild, who comes into the race with ten straight victories. He’ll be a short price to extend that winning streak, while Tuono Bella looks the one for the forecast. Heat four is wide open, but Proper Dangeress stands out as a fascinating contender following an eye-catching UK debut.
In the fifth heat, Vhagar is in red-hot form and bids to maintain her perfect six-bend record. She recently defeated Mongys Wild in a four-bend trial and will be popular with punters here, though Borna Parachute shouldn’t be overlooked. The sixth and final heat features the evergreen Garfiney Blaze, who can edge out Gothic Kitty to close the opening round.
The Sussex Cup also begins on Saturday and features another six opening round heats. Ante-post favourite Proper Heiress heads the market at 9/4 and runs in the final heat. We’ll take a closer look at the event next week, but two runners of interest at bigger prices are Ballymac Axel (Heat 4, 33/1) and Ballymac Kobe (Heat 1, 18/1). Axel caught the eye during the early rounds of this year’s Kirby Memorial at Limerick and has looked sharp in recent trials. Ballymac Kobe continues to improve with every run and has solid winning form at Hove, along with encouraging efforts around Towcester.
Towcester – Sunday
On Sunday, it’s over to Towcester for the final of the Juvenile Classic, where litter brothers Romeo Alliance and Romeo Ability dominate the betting. Alliance was once again flawless last weekend and has drawn the inside box for the final, a huge advantage. A repeat of that performance will make him very hard to beat.
Romeo Ability lost nothing in defeat when second last time and will need to turn close to his brother early to have a say. Not So Steady deserved his semi-final win but faces a tougher assignment here with a tricky draw. One who could go well at a price is Bowmers Wildcat, drawn perfectly out wide and capable of springing a surprise.
