A huge night for us hounds as the Derby final is finally upon us!  Each colleague of mine has negotiated the 5 tough rounds of competition and now has the chance to write their names into the history books as the first winner of the Derby at Towcester! All in all the track has been a fantastic venue for the competition, with hard luck stories happening just as at any other track, and the 6 finalists thoroughly deserve their place in the lineup.  The rest of the card is strong in depth as you would expect for the biggest night of the year and let’s hope we can have a few winners!  As ever I have found the value for the Lolly Faithful:

7:01 – Derby Plate Final

The Wildcat‘s trapping has gone completely awry but with a vacant box next to him he can power up to the first bend and demonstrate his devastating ability.  Bar The Warrior has lovely early but will need all the luck in the world to be able to overcome Dorotas‘ back straight pace with a solo now guaranteed.  King Kid has his 6 box that he produces his best performances from but he has been found wanting a tad at Towcester and the venue perhaps doesn’t produce the best out of him.  Hard to oppose the long odds-on favourite here.

Selection: T1 – Dorotas Wildcat

7:16 – Champion Hurdle Final

Ballymac Manix has perhaps been underrated as a dog who likes to jump over sticks as he has won many an illustrious prize and set the track record here last week.  Razldazl Raidio was out of tune for his standards in that same race though and he can make amends here; his human cited that he was off colour following his run last week and if that is to be excused, he can confirm that he is the fastest hurdler in training.  There is no doubt he can throw in the odd paw performance, but he is now value at odds-against.

Selection: T6 – Razldazl Raidio

7:31 – Anglo-Irish Invitational

Bubbly Bluebird was well-fancied for the tournament and was perhaps unlucky not to make the bend clear when he was eliminated with a telling blow from Garryvoe Bobby.  That same rival has managed to clear his act up and this has the look of Bobby rushing up again and colliding with Bluebird at the bend in an action-replay.  Therefore the Champagne Club’s pride and joy is vulnerable and the bubbly might be flowing instead for connections of Sallows Ford.  The Monmore raider utilised his draw perfectly in the first round to land at 8/1 for the Lolly Faithful and here he has a similar make up with Whoops Jack diving for the rails so Ford can swoop round the outside; for a strong dog that is in the form of his life the 14/1 looks a massive price.

Selection: T6 – Sallows Ford

7:48 – Stayers Final

If I have one criticism of Towcester it is that the times recorded have been competely baffling at times: the sectionals to the bend have been mystifying!  Whilst these anomalies can be blamed on the bowser going round, they stop becoming anomalies when every race seems to be wildly different in terms of times recorded.  An example of this is here where Rubys Rascal managed to record a time much superior to his rivals on the night (a track record performance in fact), yet he missed the break and had to battle to the front; I’m not entirely convinced the performance was as impressive as the time suggests and the performance of Frankies Lady had a lot to like about it in defeat. She was considered good enough to enter the Derby (one of the few bitches actually given a chance) and showed real desire in her race last week to get into a winning position.  That wasn’t to be as it is tough to overtake at Towcester around the third bend but she can make amends tonight with a good draw if Rascal fluffs his lines again.  Cloran Paddy has a terrible draw to work from and his win in the heats suggested a workdoglike performance from a hound who is perhaps starting to feel his niggles that have hindered his career all too often.  Teejays Apache is an enigmatic sort that got loose last week; maybe this distance is the making of him or maybe he does what he wants!

Selection: T1 – Frankies Lady

8:04 – Puppies

The young tykes have a go here in tribute to Mandy McCarthy who was a true dog woman and is a sad loss for her family, friends and the industry as a whole.  The way the race has panned out means that arguably the widest runner in training Fweshfromthesesh has drawn trap 4 which is almost certainly likely to hinder the chances of Calico Ranger and Donation out wide.  The Sesh and the ranger were part of Team Lolly for the Derby and whilst they ran with huge credit for us, their wide antics will be punished here by Jaytee Yankee who has his ideal draw in trap 1.  Yankee is a colleague of mine who would arguably prefer trap 0 and he can pace up and not be for catching once he rails round the first bend.  The Other Reg is still quite green and as a confirmed middle runner can leave a huge gap for Yankee to utilise.

Selection: T1 – Jaytee Yankee

8:21 – Derby Invitational

Pacey Bambi missed the break for the first time in the competition when eliminated and if he can eradicate that error from his repetoire, he looks a big price to pace up on the rails here.  Bruisers Bullet was a gallant runner in the Derby but ultimately found everything to be happening too quickly around him and with a much-maligned run last time, he may not quite have his confidence back to assert his authority on this contest.  Forest Con, as the Wildcat’s brother, has the family trait of napping in the boxes before awaking to a ferocious burst of pace: that is where their races are lost at this level.  Coolavanny Mason just doesn’t have enough early around here to be competitive enough against top quality hounds as he always seems to encounter traffic problems which could easily appear in the form of the near 40kg powerhouse Carn Brea.  Mullin’s charge is a useful sort at his level but Pacey Bambi comfortably cleared him during the Derby proper and a similar scenario is envisaged here.

Selection: T1 – Pacey Bambi

8:38 – Dorando Marathon

The traditional 8 bend race on Derby final night has a new Towcester twist this year with 8 hounds attempting to run this ludicrous distance!  It is a strong line-up with Aayamzabreeze staying all day but her effort over an albeit inadequate trip last week hardly made her look like she enjoyed the Northamptonshire venue that much.  Anitas Baby is a dangerous bitch for Richard Baker as her times round Hall Green could easily see her in the lead over the first circuit and she looks well-equipped to continue for another circuit.  That all being barked though, Jaytee Patriot has a galloping way about him that is irresistible when he is on a going day; maybe the best dog psychiatrist in the world couldn’t fathom why he puts in the odd bad performance but the true enigma of this era has to be backed at very generous odds for his ability.  He is easily capable of leading this field or can use his back straight pace to devastating effect out wide as Meadow will be going left and he should lead Adamant Jim up.  Patriot is a hound to be on the right side of, even if he can infuriate when you least expect it!

Selection: T7 – Jaytee Patriot NB

8:56 – DERBY FINAL

The breathtaking ability of Clares Rocket has been a joy to watch this year as he has shown such versatility and class in making the final undefeated.  Here, as I suppose is to be expected, he faces his most difficult assignment as he has the two dogs with the most consistent early in the competition drawn inside him.  Hiya Butt has surprised me, amongst many others, in how he can actually stay this 500m trip sufficiently enough but his sprinting prowess is where he wins his races and with Droopys Acrobat moving into lane 4 on the run-up when drawn on the rails,  Clares Rocket could easily be squeezed for room.  That means Tyrur Shay has a dream draw to capitalise upon with no excuses if Rocket gets in trouble.  Shay is highly unlikely to fly out and lead like he did when setting the track record in the second round but if he can turn handy enough, he has proven time and time again in this tournament that he is the strongest dog home and his overall ability can make him a worthy champion.

Selection: T5 – Tyrur Shay NAP

Here are the recommendations:

7:16 – Razldazl Raidio – 1 doggie treat @ 5/4

7:31 – Sallows Ford – 1 piece of bread @ 14/1

8:04 – Jaytee Yankee – 1 breast of chicken @ 2/1

8:38 – Jaytee Patriot – 1 chewstick @ 2/1

8:56 – Tyrur Shay – 3 dog bones @ 2/1

So there are my thoughts on the proceedings!  It’s the best night of the year being celebrated at its new home so let’s hope for a fantastic occasion and night’s racing!  As ever, if you have any comments pleast tweet me and I’ll bark right back at you!  The Irish greyhound community have had some tough times over the past few months but the roar will be hear from Galway if Shay manages to turn handy enough tonight!

Enjoy the racing,

Jimmy