Well it was not the best start for Team Lolly as we lost some of our pawtfolio in the 1st Round, but the performances of the 3 that remain were at least encouraging. The 2nd Round is notoriously fraught with danger from a tipping perspective as I think too much emphasis is placed on 1 race form that we all saw last week. With that barked, there were some useful clues on how my unexposed Irish colleagues are going to run on these shores and with an intriguing card lined up today, the greatest month in greyhound racing rolls on. As ever, I have found some value for the Lolly Faithful:

20:42 – Heat 1

Farloe Calvin blasted clear on the fast going last week and if the ground is as anticipated and still on the quick side for the early races, he can bolt up here. His early acceleration had me bouncing up and down on the sofa as I reminisced of my glory days and with Salad Dodger on his inside, he can pace up and put this race to his doggie bed. Newlawn Impact ran creditably in the 1st Round having found trouble and would be a danger if he suddenly remembered how good he was as a puppy, but his form has a seriously regressive profile about it now. The aforementioned Salad Dodger will be running on and is a credit to himself for rising so steeply since his lowly A6 days and Gizmo Classic looks the type to stick around for at least the next week or so.

20:58 – Heat 2

My ears were pricked on full alert when I heard about the seeding of Hather George from rails to middle for this tournament (has ran as a middle dog his entire career) and when he got trap 1 in the 1st Round many were dreading the outcome of him impeding others. Apparently showing that the greatest human of all-time, Charlie Lister OBE, knows a thing or two about us mutts, George coped admirably with the red box and can do so again today to go one better and win. He is yet to taste success over the course and distance but he has a lovely chance here with him being able to match the early strides of Millwards Joker and then get after the trail-blazer that is likely to be Brosna King. Jet Stream Duke had a charmed run in the 1st Round and will have to be on his toes this time around and Rayvin Lad flatters to deceive in my dog’s honest opinion. George is as game as they come and can finally win a heat of the Derby in his 3rd year of trying.

21:15 – Heat 3

This is a heat that will take some winning and whilst Ballymac Niall is likely to lead, I doubt he will be able to hold off all-comers as he did last week. Jaytee Seville was a naughty boy when chasing (literally) down Ballymac Vic in the 1st Round and whilst he has pace to burn, I would prefer to back a dog who has his eyes on the prize. Take The Crown ran a shocking first bend last week and whilst he is likely to be more suited to trap 4 than 1, I think he is now drawn too far out as he definitely likes to rail. With all that in mind, it is worth siding with one of the gambles of the first round in Thatchers Champ who has always shown lovely gears. If he can clear the fast bitch in Brinkleys Queen by the halfway point, he can then pick off his rivals one by one as this looks like a scrappy affair to me.

21:32 – Heat 4

The barking dog of this heat is Leameneigh Turbo who was desperately unlucky not to clear Crokers Champ at the bend in the 1st Round: that would have been impressive. Yet, he might have another hard luck story here against the unbeaten in England, Ballygibbon King, whose performance in the first round has gone under the radar for me as he was the winner of the heat of death. As he showed a lovely turn of paw to be up with Coolavanny Bert in that race, most humans were watching to see how the likes of Droopys Odell, Farloe Nutter and Sidarian Blaze were faring, due to their prominence in the antepost market. Whilst all that was going on, King had drawn clear down the back straight and showed that if he can lead or turn handy, he will be hard to knock out of this tournament. Even if Turbo can get to the bend ahead of him, he seemed to fall in a hole on the run-in last week and whilst he is likely to come on from that leaps and bounds, King can punish any chinks in Turbo’s staying capabilities. Bubbly Gold ran very well last week considering it was his first look at the Plough Lane circuit, yet his style will always need luck in-running and the two wide drawn dogs here look useful types.

21:48 – Heat 5

Aero Nemesis confirmed the confidence his human has in him in scintillating fashion and it is worth siding with him now he has that experience under his collar. He showed a brilliant turn of paw to make the bend in the 1st Round and whilst he will have to do the same again to lead the useful bitch Greenwell Lark, Nemesis has looked a powerhouse since clocking a remarkable trial time at Romford (sub-24 seconds). Airport Captain ran well enough in defeat but he is a dog who likes to be leading and it is hard to envisage how he can do so here.

22:03 – Heat 6

The final addition to Team Lolly runs here in Sidarian Teejay. He is yet to run a bad race in his career and his only defeat came at the paws of King Dec (by a head) who is making that form look stronger by the race. Teejay is not devoid of early, has a ping in him and has devastating back straight pace. He will face tougher assignments than this.

22:18 – Heat 7

Another member of Team Lolly goes here in Graduation Day who ran a creditable second in his heat last week. Southern Mesut is likely to blaze a trail here but he was not at his scintillating best to the halfway point considering his sprinting prowess and he will need to be right on his game to beat the Irish raider here in Day. He has shown that he has taken to Wimbledon well and if he can remain fit, Graduation Day can go deep in this tournament: he can show why here.

22:35 – Heat 8

It was an incredible effort from Jimmy to nearly rein in Farloe Calvin on the fast-going this week and the new antepost favourite in places, can lead this field by halfway. Holdem Spy is quite simply awesome and whilst there is a long way to go, it is hard to see how he gets knocked out barring being knocked over. Mileheight Alba has performed appawllingly every time he has been drawn in 5, sadly.

Here are the recommendations:

22:18 – Graduation Day – 1 chewstick @ 3/1

So there are my thoughts on the first night of the Second Round. As ever, if you have any comments please tweet me and I’ll bark back at you faster than Farloe Calvin makes the first bend today. The 1st Round showed that there will be plenty of shocks and hard luck stories in this Derby, let’s hope they go in favour of Team Lolly and in particular, Jimmy. Go get them, Spy.

Enjoy the racing,

Jimmy