This is the time of year that really starts to get me salivating as we begin our approach to the Derby in May. With such terrific prize money for our flagship tournament, my colleagues from Ireland have already started to come over in preparation to take on us British dogs for the 200,000 doggie treat prize on the 31st May. Tonight, we get a glimpse of a few of those likely contenders from the Emerald Isle around the Derby location, Wimbledon, and the whole card has a really classy look to it. The Lolly Faithful are especially looking forward to the Springbok Final where we have the fastest Semi-Final winner, Cornamaddy Jumbo, at an antepost price of 9/2: he won’t be that tonight! Elsewhere we have the Greyhound of the Year and all-round dog icon that is Farloe Tango to look forward to and plenty of other top class colleagues of mine. As ever, I have found the value for the Lolly Faithful:

19:34 – Sprint

Everyone’s favourite race paws off the proceedings tonight and we see arguably the 3 best sprinters in training at this current point in time: Aero Twizzle, Wee Tiger Tots and Zenas Boy. At the prices, I favour the former as he nearly caught Wee Tiger Tots at Hall Green (with the going against him) over this longer sprint distance and I think he has fared best from the draw in comparison to his closest rivals. If he can clear the very useful trapper in Andlyns Asabat, he can assert on the rails and power up the home straight. Wee Tiger Tots racked up an impressive set of victories before a shock defeat last time out but I feel the presence of Zenas Boy on her outside (who loves the Plough Lane circuit) leads me to think that those two could hamper each other: an eventuality you can ill-afford to do against Twizzle. As with any sprint, if any of the main protagonists ping ahead of the others (like I used to do all the time) then it will be race over but I think Aero Twizzle is the value if they trap on terms.

19:49 – Standard

The first of the races where we begin to see the Derby dogs is here with all of these (barring mishaps) looking to be in the First Round at the beginning of May. The dog with the most scope out of this field for me is Swift Keith who was born to run at Wimbledon and he can assert on the rails with a nice draw outside the determined, classy Blackstone Marco. Laughil George is no mug as he proved last year in the Derby but he has not been seen since in competition since then and that could mean he has been struggling with little niggles. The two wide dogs are both Irish colleagues of mine and are of interest as they have both competed at the top level on those shores. Fiery Splendour is certainly hot out of the boxes and Farloe Trent has good back-straight pace, but based on the trial efforts I would suggest that they have a little to find with Swift Keith who looks a 28:40 dog around Wimbledon as long as I have a tail between my legs!

20:04 – Bitches

I love watching a top quality bitch and here we have 6 of them; I’ll be poised at the edge of my sofa for this one, trust me! Rewind Express has been subject to a gamble this morning and now looks woefully short to me with Silverview Pinky and Jaytee Jules capable of matching her in the early strides if they ping like they can do. Of course, Express could get a clear run if she repeats her 4:79 sectional but she is by no means guaranteed it all her own way on the run-up. With that in mind, the value in this race is to follow the continuing post-seasonal progression of Droopys Posh who has great trackcraft and speed when she finds her racing room. She is undoubtedly a stayer these days, but she still has enough 4 bend speed to compete here, especially with the predicted trouble on the inside. Posh is another greyhound who has learnt to type with their paws to join me on Twitter and with that level of intelligence, she can weave her way through this field. Won’t Fall Behind has a progressive profile at Coventry but this is a steep rise in class and whilst Aayamzamodel posted a brilliant trial, the old addage of “trials are for show, races are for dough made into pancakes”, comes to mind (I had to get one in for today!).

20:19 – Springbok Final

The trainer of Cornamaddy Jumbo, Mark Wallis, could not have been more bullish about his novice hurdler for this year’s Springbok and who am I to disagree with the Human of the Year? I heeded his barkings. The Lolly Faithful were treated to a marvellous display of jumping from this speedster and now he has his draw again in trap 6: he is fancied to make-all in spectacular style. He blasted onto the scene when beating the Grand National champion, Mash Mad Snowy, at Romford and although it was an inadequate distance for Snowy, Jumbo’s effort was scintillating for a dog having his first competitive race over the obstacles. Westmead Bertie and Razldazl Butch are more than useful novices but Jumbo is the most promising hurdler I have seen in many a dog year.

20:34 – Marathon

This looks a two bitch race if ever I have seen one and two potential superstars of the ridiculous-distance scene are on display here. Musical Fawn won the even-more-ridiculous distance race of 1048m (!!!) at Crayford last week but she looks like she will have to succomb to the earlier pace (if that is possible over this trip) of Burgess Borna here. A 28:64 time over the standard trip in a trial from Borna would see her lead this field by about half the track and whilst I do not expect that, she is a proven stayer and anywhere close to a clear run can see her put this to her doggie bed quite early.

20:49 – Standard

Some more Derby hopefuls strut their stuff here and there is great value in backing Chicago to continue his love-affair with this track having only been defeated in the Puppy Derby Final around here to date. On that occasion, he was badly drawn and now that he is back in his favoured 5 box, he can ping out and produce a 28:50 that would win this in my dog’s honest opinion. Jordans Brianna is unbeaten and looks a dark dog for the Charlie Lister camp but he is unlikely to appreciate Jolly Bullseye on his inside who is an admirable campaigner for Kevin Hutton. Sidaz Eagle could also prove a problem for Brianna unless he gets a flier and Chicago looks much better drawn than those three. Airlie Impact was a worthy Derby finalist last year but us dogs only have so many great runs in us (as my exception to the rule strike rate would suggest) and he looks a slight shadow of his former self these days. He can allow Chicago the freedom of London on the outside and allow Seamus Cahill’s exciting prospect out of the Irish superstar Milldean Panther, to assert.

21:04 – Stayers

You simply have to love this dog. He’s got a character as nearly as great as mine and he is building a fan base across greyhound racing and further with his enigmatic, exciting and explosive turn of foot that really can come at any point of the race: Farloe Tango is around his favourite circuit tonight. He disappointed many at Newcastle when beaten at long odds-on but we all know that is who he is and anyone backing against him around here where he is the brilliant Track-Record holder, needs their heads testing! In this race, he faces the on-fire Golden Jacket winner that is Hometown Honey but not even she can get far enough away from the Tango. When will he make his move? Hold on to your sofas!

21:19 – Juvenile

This is a remarkably competitive renewal of the Juvenile with no real sense of their being a superstar lining up, but also not a sense that it is a disappointing assortment of 2 year-old invitees. It should be a great race! In these high-class, competitive affairs it is absolutely imperative that the draw is taken into account and this is where I have found the value in the race. Mileheight Alba has the best pace to the bend out of any of these but he misses the break so often that he is almost inevitably going to be squeezed by the mid-moving Jaytee Lightning and the confirmed rails-mad Droopys Odell who both trap out pretty well. I cannot have Alba to win this unless he gets a flier which happens about as often as I go a whole day without having 4 naps! There is no question that Redbrick Stuart is well-drawn but he hardly set the track alight here in the Puppy Derby last year and looks certain to become a stayer after this year’s Derby. Whilst Adageo Bob has won numerous high-class affairs, he has yet to meet a dog of this calibre in my opinion and with him in trap 6, he could set the race up for Van Rooney. Rooney is notorious in Ireland for his slow starts but he has a great draw to work from with Odell going left and the potential to lead Bob. If he can turn handy (which there is every possibility), he is the fastest dog in the race for me and he can power down the back straight to get into contention. He will, of course, need luck in-running but he will need less luck than the others in the field and certainly represents value at 7/2 for me.

Here are the recommendations:

8:19 – Cornamaddy Jumbo – 1 chewstick @ 9/2

So there are my thoughts on the proceedings! As ever, if you have any comments please don’t hesitate to tweet me and I’ll back bark at you with even more enthusiasm than I will be showing towards the bitches race tonight! It truly is a cracking card this evening and whilst I am big on Jumbo, Rooney can also score for the Lolly Faithful.