As Britain basked in a heatwave this weekend, the heat was turned up in the Star Sports & Orchestrate English Greyhound Derby, and the semi-final draw has thrown a white hot opening heat that would have been worthy of the Final itself.
Ireland have the upper hand with eight of the 12 runners remaining in the competition and Epic Ace is now the sole unbeaten runner. It’s 20 years since the mighty Westmead Hawk managed to win every round of the Derby, but it would be a brave call to suggest that John Kennedy’s dog couldn’t emulate Nick Savva’s superstar.
Last Saturday, he comfortably saw off Proper Heiress, and he will face another Mark Wallis inmate in Strike It Skye. She is one of two ladies left and has confirmed her defeat in the Brighton Belle to be a rare blot on her copybook. I had the pleasure of calling her at Newcastle in the Jimmy Wright Future Stars and that competition has turned out to be a serious series with Kirby winner, Bouncing Monarch and Northern Puppy Derby victor, Woltemade, among its graduates.
Liam Dowling has four runners through and three of them are engaged in the first semi-final. Of the trio, Ballymac Duffle scrambled through in a vital third place, while our ante-post fancy, Ballymac Deniro, took a massive step forward when securing his quarter-final heat in a clock of 27.21.
The second semi-final may lack the sexiness of the first but those three places into the final are worth the same and there’s a story attached to each runner.
Scooby The Lady arrives in the form of her life and the Kent Plate winner bids to be another finalist for Richard Rees – whose father and grandfather trained Derby winners in the past.
Ballymac Ralf and Hackney Corner are drawn together for a third instalment of their battles while Sole Focus, who is trained by Debbie Calvert, also takes his chance at chunky odds. He was beaten in a lowly affair at Doncaster in December but now sits potentially 28 seconds away from a box in the final of the sport’s premier classic.
Let’s take a look at the two semi-finals...
21:18 Semi Final 1
1 Lennies Eddie (Paul Hennessy, Ire)
Six runs at Towcester this year with three wins and three seconds; didn’t fire from this trap in opening round and has no margin for error
2 Strike It Skye (Mark Wallis)
An Oaks semi-finalist and highly progressive; a couple of lengths shy on the clock though her last two victories have obtained from this location
3 Epic Ace (John Kennedy, Ire)
Track-record holder and still unbeaten at Towcester; will appreciate return to white vest and has been metronomic in taking care of business
4 Ballymac Duffle (Liam Dowling, Ire)
Mercurial in this Derby; odds-on favourite in all four rounds though twice dodged apparent elimination through his sheer bloody mindedness
5 Ballymac Deniro (m) (Liam Dowling, Ire)
Looks to be coming to hand at right time; faces significantly tougher task on this occasion and vital he gets early track position from the boxes
6 Ballymac Iroko (w) (Liam Dowling, Ire)
Strong running type; sectionals tell us he won’t be there early but he won’t be shirking the issue as they rumble past half-way
Verdict
EPIC ACE has delivered the perfect series to date and conditions appear set for him to progress onward. Ballymac Deniro is the improver and he needs to get out given Ballymac Duffle and Ballymac Iroko can stay from off of the pace. Strike It Skye has done nothing wrong in this competition and will seek an inside run. 3-5-4
21:38 Semi Final 2
1 Sole Focus (Debbie Calvert)
Winless here yet no fluke about qualification; runs his own race and any bother out wide would assist prospects greatly
2 Proper Heiress (Mark Wallis)
High class on his day though well held last week; was his first try in red at Towcester so hopes rely upon positive response to a more central location
3 Scooby The Lady (Richard Rees)
Winner of nine races this term; early pace provides a compelling case to stick with her and she’ll be hard to beat if allowed to dictate matters
4 Ballymac Ralf (Liam Dowling, Ire)
Laid big marker with brutal third round success; still unexposed though arguably would have preferred to have been drawn to the inside of T3
5 Hackney Corner (m) (Pat Buckley, Ire)
Done what’s required to reach this stage; clock needs work albeit track craft is fair and he’s with the right trainer to realise the necessary
6 Lennies Tank (w) (Paul Hennessy, Ire)
Early pacer in Ireland; exuberance in the traps hasn’t helped chances on his last two visits and needs to time that release to a tee
Verdict
SCOOBY THE LADY keeps things simple and in a clean run race, her chance is obvious. The fly in the ointment could be the presence of Ballymac Ralf and were he to get a bingo break, that would change the nature of the contest. Proper Heiress was always on the back foot in the quarter-finals though that effort was forgivable. We haven’t seen the best of Hackney Corner at Towcester so expect the market to guide. 3-5-2
- 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 21:20 BST on 24/05/26
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