As we reach the halfway stage of this illustrious tournament, most of my colleagues will be surprised to be racing so soon with only 3 days rest. It is fair to bark that very few, if any, of these dogs will have raced twice in 3 days and that can often be to the disadvantage of form students as some dogs will simply not be able to repeat their heroics (or potential) shown in the first 3 rounds. It is a night to take on the more fancied runners. On the whole Team Lolly is looking encouraging with four runners of our dogfolio remaining (Shaneboy Alley, Farloe Warhawk, Farloe Tango and Holdem Spy) with them all showing signs that they have the potential to win this coveted prize. In order to find value this evening for the Lolly Faithful it is important to gauge the effect that the quick run will have on my colleagues and these are my thoughts on the races:

Quarter Final 1 – 20:34

Probably the worst drawn of Team Lolly this evening is Farloe Warhawk who will have to ping like yours truly to be able to get to the bend ahead of the impressive Shaneboy Spencer. Ideally he would be drawn in his favoured trap 3 but 4 should be no hinderance and he can just about assert at the first bend. Sidaz Jack is not devoid of early but the young whippersnapper showed his naivety in the Third Round by succumbing to lesser lights quite meekly and whilst he clearly is blessed with pace, he could just lack the required class at the moment to be competitive in these latter stages. His early-pace and natural railing ability will hinder Tyrur Sugar Ray and the Irish raider will have to go pound-for-pound with Jack throughout the race: he could be in trouble here. Hather George has pace either side of him with Jaytee Hellcat in an unfamiliar berth and both of those gutsy performers can battle it out for the final qualification spot behind the two leaders. Preference is for Warhawk over Spencer as he has been proven at the highest level in the Puppy Derby.

Quarter Final 2 – 20:49

The race of the tournament so far will begin to assess the credentials of Droopys Jet and in particular, Ballymac Vic, who has had solos so far in the tournament. Both of these fast Irish compatriots will need to avoid getting in a tussle as Screen Critic has shown he needs no second invitation to capitalise on pondering leaders. Jet and Vic have also been putting in their best performances in front and their facile wins may have actually taken more out of them than they would have ideally liked at this stage and unless one of them gets clear, they could find themselves in real trouble here. Jet’s draw in 1 is his favourite, as is Vic’s in 3 so neither can have complaints there but the best drawn of them all, Critic can enjoy a solo out wide and win this. The question of who will be finishing stronger out of Priceless Pilot, Droopys Ed Moses and Islas Scolari is anyone’s guess and whilst they have their own race for the first 3 bends, I think that Moses has shown enough to part the waves of the rest and sneak a qualification place: at the expense of either Jet or Vic.

Quarter Final 3 – 21:04

How well is Ballymac Eske running? The most asked question in this year’s Derby has one answer for me: not as well as expected. Of course, he has done well to be undefeated to this point but his inability to regain his pinging form of the Scottish Derby/Juvenile is a huge concern for connections and the fact that it took him what seemed like an eternity to overtake the sprinter, Stonepark Crash, in the Third Round suggests to me he is not firing on all cylinders. The draw has worked out very kind for him here with no real early either side, but in that, Shaneboy Alley has no pace anywhere near him in the race early on and should be able to assert from the first and second bend. That is not race over, however. As the most impressive performer of this Derby so far, Holdem Spy, can turn handy and overcome Alley as he did in the Third Round and show that he is a serious player in this tournament. The slight concern of him cramping in the Second Round to be caught on the line suggests more to me that he was not fully wound up early in the tournament as opposed to struggling with fitness and he is a dog to ignore at your peril in this competition. He has finalist written all over him and that would be a great scenario for the Lolly Faithful. Teejays Bluehawk will arguably have to produce a career best (which is a lofty height) to pick these up and qualify.

Quarter Final 4 – 21:19

Farloe Tango was extremely unlucky to not make a race-winning move at the third bend in the Third Round but that misfortune has led to a very fortunate draw here. Bonamassa Rocks showed the pace that he had always been threatening to utilise in this year’s Derby from when he blasted onto the scene with a sub-24 second run round Romford in an A1. He can lead on the inside and give Tango the perfect platform to demonstrate his undoubted raw pace. Airlie Impact is as wide as they come and his draw in three could hinder the chances of all of the wide-runners here if they are not capable of pinging out and again, this sets the race up for Lister’s talented and mercurial dog. Bittles Bar’s connections may have been too eager in switching him from rails to wide as opposed to middle because he lacked his usual early from 4, let alone 6, and he appears to be a dog that a slight niggle or the intense runs over a short period of time might be catching up with him. He can ill-afford a bad start here. Carkei Max is running well without showing signs of being a real contender and will have to be alert at the boxes because Impact will only be going one way, fast. Tango could not ask for a better draw in the Quarter Finals of the Derby.

So there are my thoughts on the proceedings tonight. As ever, please tweet or comment if you have anything to suggest about my barkings here and I promise to respond with as little howling as I possibly can. Team Lolly are looking in a strong position at the halfway stage, and they can continue to progress to the Semi Finals on Saturday: I hope!