Ian Brindle looks ahead to this year’s English Greyhound Derby at Towcester as it promises to be one of the most wide-open renewals for some time.
Greyhound Derby antepost betting tips
2pts e.w. Ballymac Deniro at 25/1 (General 1/4 1,2,3,4,5,6)
1pt e.w. Cheap Sandwiches at 28/1 (PricedUp 1/4 1,2,3,4,5,6)
A World Cup year sees an early start to this year’s Star Sports & Orchestrate English Greyhound Derby as six weeks of competition will ultimately yield a worthy champion.
Sadly we won’t see Droopys Plunge making a title defence but his trainer Patrick Janssens appears to have assembled an able team of deputies in his personal quest to snare a third Derby.
Top of the draft is Romeo Tomcat. He was eliminated in the third round of last year’s Derby before ultimately going on to win the Consolation Plate. His father, Dorotas Wildcat, showed that it's not out of the question for winners of that prize to graduate the year after so could history repeat itself?
Droopys Graph, who like Droopys Plunge, is a son of the legendary Droopys Sydney, was edged out in the Kent Plate but he is a dog of whom big things were expected following a scintillating debut at Cork. He has won three minor Opens at Towcester since joining Janssens and must be respected.
Slick Sentinel is currently priced in three figures and that could be an insult. Somewhat unfortunate in last year’s semi-finals, he wouldn’t be the first dog to come alive for a return to Northamptonshire.
Holland returnees hold claims
Graham Holland will be bringing back runner-up Bockos Diamond and fourth-placed, CHEAP SANDWICHES and I can’t resist including the latter in my portfolio.
“Sambo” as he is widely known, was to ultimately prevail in the Irish Derby and he would be an apt winner given the recent passing of Nick Savva, the man who trained Toms The Best – the only dog to have completed the Irish and English double.
Sentiment aside – he’s a known competition performer and despite a couple of rumours about his participation, it's clear that Holland has trained him with this event in mind and wouldn’t be running the dog if he couldn’t provide a fair account.
Bockos Diamond was ante-post favourite in 2025 though his subsequent Irish Derby campaign was curtailed early due to a muscle injury. It would be an amazing training performance were he to get near to his brilliant best.
Among Holland’s less established performers is Juvenile winner, Swords Style. A son of the speedy Grangeview Ten, he saw off the smart Santas Amigo in that one-off affair over course-and-distance.
Low Profile may be well named given he’s only raced a handful of times but a strong performance in his Trial Stake had the layers scurrying for cover.
Dowling seeks repeat
Liam Dowling achieved a lifetime’s ambition with De Lahdedah in 2024 and Ballymac Setanta has been antepost favourite for this year’s Derby for some months.
He was runner-up in the Kirby Memorial to British raider, Bouncing Monarch, and that competition has traditionally proved a useful signpost to the Classics. The proximity of that final is naturally a concern though the dog has been capable of running up sequences en route to the Finals in the past.
BALLYMAC DENIRO didn’t get too far in that competition but he’s had time to get over his misfortune and I’m always keen to be with runners that have done well in the Juvenile Classic at Tralee.
He posted the fastest clock in Friday’s trial session and I’m surprised that there’s still 25/1 around given a good run in the opening round would soon see those odds tumble.
Buckley pair proving popular
Pat Buckley knows how to train a Derby winner and Irish Derby third, Glengar Silent has been anything but in the market.
It's thought the Irish dogs will fare better this year for the change of traps at Towcester yet early pace does seem important so this dog will need to look after himself in the early stages as he tends to do his better work in the second half of his races.
Hackney Corner hasn’t been seen since signing off in November on a winning note though he looks a serious prospect and is just the type that the Tipperary maestro excels with.
No discussion about the raiding party would be complete without looking at Paul Hennessy’s runners and he’s got a fascinating team.
Lennies Eddie has already won two of the Derby Trial Stakes in convincing fashion while Lennies Desire is back in action at the place where he broke the track record 12 months ago.
Wallis hoping for better luck with Heiress
Mark Wallis and the MWD Partnership have annexed all the top British competitions at will over the last couple of years and they will be hoping that Proper Heiress can make a major impact.
He disappointed last year and that was a rare blip given he went on to add a second Olympic at Hove and the Eclipse at Nottingham to his Category 1 tally.
On the go for a fair while before arriving at Towcester in 2025, it will be interesting to see if the change of campaigning brings about a change of fortune.
Strike It Skye slammed a decent field in the Jimmy Wright Future Stars Puppy Trophy at Newcastle and went into many notebooks as a consequence. There’s little doubt that she has a touch of class albeit she ran too badly to be true in the final of the Brighton Belle at Hove.
One of the top puppies in Britain is Underground Gold and he was to give his posse of owners a series of memorable nights at Monmore when securing the Puppy Derby.
It’s great to see Paul Young at the top table again and while those performances in the Midlands undoubtedly forced his hand, the youngster needs to prove he can get 500 metres and two ordinary trials have posed more questions than answers.
Bookem heads lively outsiders
The open nature of this year’s renewal could present the potential for bigger-priced runners to make their mark and among those at juicy odds is Droopys Bookem.
A semi-finalist in 2025, he’s raced regularly up at Newcastle where I feel he has won races despite not really acting at the track. His style of racing requires a fair amount of luck in running and I remain convinced that he runs Towcester a proverbial 10lb better than elsewhere.
Fellow North-East raider Droopys Sort is another I’ve watched at close quarters and while I couldn’t see him winning a Derby, I could see Carl Jackson’s closer poaching a couple of prizes on the way. He’ll be a working man’s price on his opening bow in Heat 19 on Saturday.
Droopys Aladdin is already a Category 1 winner this term and Mike Burton is no stranger to decent Derby campaigns. The Laurels winner beat Proper Heiress in the opening round of last year’s competition and arrives at Towcester fresh from a flawless campaign at Dunstall Park.
- The Star Sports & Orchestrate English Greyhound Derby will be shown live on Sky Sports Racing, Premier Greyhound Racing and across the majority of bookmaker platforms
Posted at 13:20 BST on 28/04/26
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