GREYHOUND PREVIEW: Barry Caul previews the final of the English Greyhound Derby at Towcester on Saturday.
English Greyhound Derby Preview 2025
Trap 1 Droopys Plunge
He began his career at Cork under the guidance of Johnny Linehan. He won on his debut in 28:42 during the opening round of the Dennis Linehan Solicitors Open Unraced at Cork.
Although he faced defeat in both the quarterfinals and semis of that event, he ultimately triumphed in the final on his fourth outing, beating Callaway Knegare and claiming the €10,000 winner’s prize.
Next up was the Juvenile Derby at Shelbourne, where he exited in the second round behind Cheap Sandwiches. This race marked his last on Irish soil, as he then moved to Patrick Janssens’s kennel. Plunge went on to win five of his first seven races in the UK, achieving victories at Towcester, Perry Barr, and Nottingham. However, he struggled at Hove shortly after in the opening round of the Olympic.
He bounced back with a win in his next outing at Hove, which launched him into a remarkable run, culminating in victories in seven of his next eight starts. He clocked an impressive 28:57 at Towcester in late February and followed that with another stellar performance at Perry Barr, posting a time of 28:06 for the 480m trip.
This year, Plunge won the opening round of the Derby, but he has yet to secure another victory since then. On Saturday, he will wear the red jacket for the only time in the competition, giving him a fighting chance. As he represents the home team, he will have plenty of support on the night!
Trap 2 Sole Mio
Sole Mio kicked off his journey at Tralee, making a winning debut in the opening round of the Juvenile Classic. However, his second run didn’t go as planned. things got a bit messy when he got crowded and baulked behind Droopys Patriot. After that, he made his way to Limerick for the Con and Annie Kirby Memorial. Even though he didn’t win a round in the Kirby, he put in a solid effort and ended up finishing as the runner-up behind Faypoint Ranger.
When he stepped into the all-age competition, Sole Mio made it look easy, winning the first three rounds of the Derby. However, his first taste of defeat on UK soil came in the quarterfinals when he finished third behind Cheap Sandwiches. Last week, he really lit up in the semis but was just edged out by the fantastic De Lahdedah.
This Saturday, he’s got a cracking draw in two, and I wouldn’t count him out. His half-brother, Mr Chelm, was the runner-up in this event back in 2022 after following a similar path. Mr Chelm also finished third in the Kirby of 2022 behind Swords Rex.
Peter Cronin has been so close before, and this year with Sole Mio, he’s got a real live chance.
Trap 3 De Lahdedah
The defending champ is absolutely on fire right now! I could go on and on about the incredible career of De Lahdedah. He kicked off his journey by winning on debut back in February 2023 around Tralee. To give you some context, Sole Mio hadn’t even been born yet, and Droopys Plunge was just a tiny three-month-old pup. Meanwhile, the legendary Graham Holland trio—Bockos Diamond, Bombay Pat, and Cheap Sandwiches—were still in their infancy at just five months!
De Lahdedah made it to the semifinal of the Irish Derby on only his tenth start and was the favorite for the big prize before making his exit at the semifinal stage. He then clocked an astonishing 27:78 around Shelbourne later that same year in the Juvenile Derby, although he bowed out in round three. He also made it to the final of the Kingdom Derby in Tralee but faced a setback in the Easter Cup in 2024 before heading over to the English Derby.
He won four out of six rounds of last year’s English Derby and cruised to victory over Boylesports Bob. After that, he returned to Shelbourne Park for another shot at the Irish Derby but didn’t make it past the quarterfinals. He quickly bounced back with wins in the consolation Irish Derby and the Winter Racing Festival Championship 550.
Since March, he’s been back on the track, and while he had a couple of subpar runs at Shelbourne, he hit his stride again when he returned to Towcester, posting a lightning-fast 28:50 in the opening round. He’s only been defeated once in this year’s event and has been absolutely thrilling to watch, coming from behind to win these last few weeks.
Now, he’s chasing the chance to be the first back-to-back winner since the legendary Westmead Hawk in 2006. It would be a brave man to bet against him.
Trap 4 Bombay Pat
“Did Not Start, Did Not Finish.” This is not an ideal line of form for a debut, and hopes of reaching the Derby finals were not exactly at the forefront of the mind. Enter Bombay Pat: after a couple of sprint races in decent company around Cork, he opened his account on his fourth start, winning by eleven lengths in a time of 27.96 seconds.
Pat impressed in a trial at Shelbourne Park prior to last year’s Irish Derby, posting a time of 29.36 seconds. He was picked up by the strong running Coosane Pickles during his Dublin debut in the opening round of the Maiden Derby, but that was his only defeat in the competition, and he went on to win comfortably in 29.35 seconds.
Next up was the Irish Derby, where Pat won the opening four rounds before finishing fourth behind Bockos Diamond in the semifinals. He replicated that fourth place in the Consolation Derby, finishing behind De Lahdedah. Following this, he was stepped up in trip for the Winter Racing Festival 575. Pat flew from the traps that night and was a well-backed 4/6 favourite. This run took place on December 7th of last year, and he would not be seen again until winning a Derby trial stake at Towcester in April.
This year, Pat won the first two rounds of the Derby comfortably and has performed well in defeat in the subsequent rounds. He has the pace to compete with the best when on form, but he will need his very best start!
Trap 5 Cheap Sandwiches
Another greyhound who began his career around Tralee. Similar to Bombay Pat, it took him four attempts to open his account, winning over 550 yards in the opening round of the Lee Strand 550. He ran a fantastic race in the final of that competition, narrowly finishing second to the excellent Dashing Toro. After a couple of unsuccessful runs in Cork, he moved to Shelbourne for the Juvenile Derby, where he was eliminated in the semifinal behind Callaway Knegare, despite an impressive performance in the second round.
He won his semifinal in the Time Greyhound Nutrition Open 550 but finished half a length behind the excellent Bockos Diamond in the final. He earned considerable respect during last year’s Irish Derby, once again finishing as the runner-up behind Bockos Diamond. In the Winter Racing Festival 550 at Shelbourne in December, De Lahdedah got the better of him.
He arrived at Towcester as a fresh greyhound and has once again been beaten by Bockos Diamond on a couple of occasions. Sambo has finished first or second in his last sixteen starts. With only De Lahdedah and Bockos Diamond proving to be tougher competitors, he unfortunately faces them again. However, sooner or later, he will have his day in the sun, and it could be this Saturday.
Trap 6 Bockos Diamond
Bockos Diamond, the winner of the Kilkenny Champion Unraced Stake back in May of last year, continues to impress as one of the best greyhounds I have ever seen. He was only beaten once in that event, by Broadstrand Syd, the Irish Sprint Cup winner. Following that, he went on to win the David Fitzgibbon Memorial Open at Cork, breaking the twenty-eight-second mark on three occasions.
Next, he moved to Shelbourne Park, where he remained unbeaten, winning the Time Greyhound Nutrition Open 550 as well as the Irish Greyhound Derby without any losses. His track record run of 28.94 seconds, achieved while defeating the highly talented Carrick Aldo, was simply astonishing.
While he has faced scepticism in the UK, and it’s understandable why, his semifinal performance last week was outstanding. Despite being a wide seed, I personally don’t think his draw is ideal this week; I’m sure connections would prefer him to be on the inside of Cheap Sandwiches. This makes for a fascinating finale.
Bockos has yet to finish outside the top three in twenty-three starts, and if you want to win a derby, you must beat this fellow first.
Selection:
1st: Sole Mio
2nd: Cheap Sandwiches
3rd: De Lahdedah
Supporting Card
18:35 Bubbly Charger
18:51 March On Freddie
20:06 Tullymurry Kane
20:57 Amazing Zeus
Good luck to all connections,
Barry.
