Greyhound Derby final: Preview and 1-2-3 verdict for Saturday's showpiece at Towcester

Liam Dowling is responsible for three of the leading fancies in the English Greyhound Derby Final at Towcester.

Saturday sees the final of the Star Sports & Orchestrate English Greyhound Derby and the only certainty is that the trophy and the £125,000 first prize will be heading across the Irish Sea.

English hopes were extinguished last weekend despite some spirited efforts and though there was a regrettable predictability about that, few would have imagined that Epic Ace – the dog that had performed so imperiously in the first four rounds of competition – would fluff his lines from the boxes and miss out on Finals night.

Our ante-post selection, Ballymac Deniro, duly prospered and he will be one of three finalists for owner/trainer, Liam Dowling.

The County Kerry handler took the prize in 2024 with De Lahdedah and he will be faced by two fellow countrymen with English Derby successes also on their CV’s.

Pat Buckley, who won the 2020 Derby with Deerjet Sydney, while Paul Hennessy bids to bag his third English Derby having secured honours with Jaytee Jet (2016) and Priceless Blake (2019). Sadly, he will not have the services of Lennies Tank on Saturday as that finalist was declared a non-runner earlier in the week.

Let’s take a look at the final five...

21.18 Star Sports and Orchestrate English Greyhound Derby

BALLYMAC DUFFLE (1)

• f d Ballymac Cooper - Ballymac Wisdom (May 24)
• Trainer: Liam Dowling
• Owner: Liam Dowling

The Kirby Memorial has proved a rich source of Classic winners and though eliminated in the semi-finals behind Ballymac Setanta (who was ante-post favourite for this year’s Derby) – there was something about Duffle’s performances that suggested he wasn’t one to be writing off. Fast forward a matter of weeks and on the opening night of the Derby and in his favoured red jacket – Duffle set a new track record – a scenario he was to repeat a week later.

Historically it has been difficult for the fastest dog in the opening round of the Derby to win the competition, and his presence here has owed much to his willingness to run. A third round victory obtaining from a wholly unpromising position; while major crowding in the quarter finals required a massive effort to pip Priceless Romeo for the last remaining slot.

Droopys Plunge won from this box last year and Ballymac Duffle is 2-2 from this location so it was no surprise to see interest (albeit now worthless) in those early prices. You’d hardly say that dogs in one have cracked out during this year’s Derby but there is little doubt that this dog possesses a fine all-round game.

BALLYMAC RALF (2)

• bef d Ballymac Cooper - Ballymac Wisdom (May 24)
• Trainer: Liam Dowling (Ire)
• Owner: Liam Dowling

Commencing his racing career at Tralee in February, Ballymac Ralf made an immediate impact by seeing off his litter brother, Ballymac Duffle. Yet, for all that initial sparkle, he arrived at Towcester under the radar having disappointed in the Kirby.

There has been little to fault about Ralf in terms of his consistency during this series at Towcester. He has been first or second in each round to date with his best performance being a make-all verdict over Hackney Corner in the third round. The clock being 28.36 seconds off a 3.75 sectional (albeit this was on the same evening where Epic Ace had realised a track record of 28.14).

The blue box has provided 19 victories in this year’s Derby – with three of the four quarter-final winners emerging from this location. A strong runner to the line, he has the potential to out-trap Duffle to the first bend and where he heads from that point will have a big bearing upon what happens next.

LENNIES EDDIE (3)

• bk d Good Cody – Portumna Marina (April 24)
• Trainer: Paul Hennessy
• Owner: Lee Craze

A son of the precocious Good Cody – Lennies Eddie is from a family that are well known to Paul Hennessy as his half-brother, Dynamic Force, was one of the stars of last year’s Derby before he suffered the misfortune a career-ending injury in the semi-finals.

Connections set their stall out by the taking the route of the Trial Stakes and Lennies Eddie won on his first pair of competitive visits. To that effect, he arrives on Saturday with the most experience of the new traps at Towcester as this will be his eighth race.

The sectionals have been steady from the second round onward though he has been behind Ballymac Deniro in the last two rounds. His trainer managed to get the white jacketed, Priceless Blake to smash out of the cans in the 2019 Derby final, and the aim will be to do the same again on this occasion.

HACKNEY CORNER (m) (4)

• bk d Here Comes Syd - Westpoint Jorgi (June 23)
• Trainer: Pat Buckley (Ire)
• Owner: Hackney Boys Syndicate

Ante-post markets are volatile beasts but having been readily available at 40/1 in March – the positive whispers about Hackney Corner’s homework saw him emerge as a bogey result for the majority of layers.

Originally trained by Murt Leahy, he was soon noticed by Pat Buckley though attempts to purchase the dog were initially rebuffed. Buckley’s patience (the dog reportedly took four months to settle into new surroundings) yielded fruit as as he ran a solid third to Irish Derby winner, Cheap Sandwiches, over Shelbourne Park’s 550 yards in November, before returning seven days later to post a decisive win over 575 yards.

Handling the challenge of Strike It Skye in the opening round with flying colours; defeats in the third and fourth rounds of competition when led up gave reason to doubt, but he answered his critics with a smart effort in the semis and connections will have been delighted to drawn this box in the Final.

BALLYMAC DENIRO (m) (5)

• bk d Ballymac Finn - Ballymac Arminta (May 24)
• Trainer: Liam Dowling (Ire)
• Owner: Liam Dowling

As Liam Dowling’s fifth winner of Tralee’s Juvenile Classic, Ballymac Deniro’s name was always going to carry plenty of currency, and the way he took the Final in March suggested him as being box office material.

A son of an Irish Derby runner-up, and out of a bitch that was an Irish Champion Stakes winner, Ballymac Deniro has an impeccable pedigree but that guarantees nothing as his campaign in the Kirby saw him literally crash out at the opening bend. In retrospect, those weeks away from a notoriously demanding competition have arguably worked to his advantage.

Week one at Towcester saw him prop badly from the boxes and give his rivals start, but unlike at Limerick, he had the sense to look up rather than head blindly inward. Second to Proper Heiress and Strike It Skye, the quarter-finals were the point where “promise” switched into performance. That he won from this box in the Juvenile Classic and last week are positives yet a draw inside of Hackney Corner would have been a more preferable prospect.

VACANT (6)

• Lennies Tank – withdrawn

Verdict

Ballymac Deniro has the fastest clock of the quintet and if he can fire out as he did in the semi-finals, he has the class to overcome a tough make-up. His kennelmates, BALLYMAC DUFFLE and Ballymac Ralf are, however, boxed in their favoured locations and fast exits from either would offer optimal track position. Hackney Corner arrives off his best race in the competition and isn’t dismissed lightly. Lennies Eddie will have to exercise the grey matter in order to find a path. 1-5-2

• The Star Sports & Orchestrate English Greyhound Derby will be shown live on Sky Sports Racing, Racing Post Greyhound TV, Premier Greyhound Racing and across the majority of bookmaker platforms

Posted at 20:45 BST on 03/06/26

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