IRELAND WITH HALF THE ENGLISH DERBY FIELD

Ian Fortune

There will be six Irish trained greyhounds in next weekend’s semi-finals of the Star Sports/ TRC English Derby after another wonderful display from the raiding party at Towcester on Saturday evening.

While connections of each of the six qualifiers will be delighted, the headlines once again went to Graham Holland as he sent out the two fastest heat winners Gaytime Nemo and the ever-professional Swords Rex.

Gaytime Nemo got the ball rolling for Holland in Heat 3 but Swords Rex took the headlines with a fractionally faster run in the final heat.

ANOTHER RAZOR SHARP DISPLAY FROM SWORDS REX

Swords Rex was defending an unbeaten record in the classic in the last of the four quarters and produced another thoroughly professional and brilliant display of front running.

Breaking smartly from trap three, it was his immediate acceleration that carried him to the front in the opening strides.

Ballymac Finn gave chase but was never going to worry the pace-setter. Instead, Romeo Top Gun came through to take second but Swords Rex was simply too good, coming home three and a half lengths clear in 28.93 (rated .15 slow). Ballymac Finn also safely progressed for Liam Dowling, a further five lengths back in third.

MARINO OUT AS NEMO FIRES

Ballymac Marino was a hot favourite to win Heat 3 but a missed start and bad crowding saw him crash out of the competition behind Gaytime Nemo, who was at his sharpest from trap five.

The Graham Holland trained star broke smartly and quickly moved through the gears to lead the field into the turn.

Once gong to the front, defeat was never an option for the strong running son of Droopys Sydney. He duly galloped on powerfully to emerge a five and a half length winner over Ninja Kerry in 28.94 (rated .15 slow).

Behind the front two, Jacktavern Bella also continued her fairytale run through the classic, moving third between the last two bends and running on strongly to finish just a head behind Ninja Kerry. Sadly, Ballymac Marino was badly squeezed on the opening turn and was never a factor, eventually finishing last. 

BURJ PRODUCES A BIG RUN IN SECOND

There was mixed luck for the Irish runners in the opening heat with Burj Khalifa successfully making it through for Brendan Matthews and Chris Sower, while Boylesports Gift was left short of room and luck as he eventually made his exit from the classic.

Burj Khalifa ran a huge race behind Romeo Command. This was a contest that was decided in the opening exchanges with the inside of the track getting congested, allowing the two wide runners to get loose into the turn.

Sadly, the congestion cost the Paul Hennessy trained Boylesports Gift his chance as he became the meat in the sandwich on the run to the corner. In contrast, Romeo Command got a virtual solo, leading the field into the turn before going on to make every inch.

Burj Khalifa pressed him hard throughout but could never quite get close enough. Romeo Command went on to win by a length and three quarters in 29.04 with Burj Khalifa a wonderful runner-up. Boylesports Gift could never recover and eventually finished at the tail of the field.

DUKE PROGRESSES

It was a similar scenario for the Irish in Heat 2 where Clona Duke progressed despite giving his rivals a head start at traps, while Ballyhimkin Leo and Romeo Hanzo ran out of luck to finish out of the frame and make their exit.

The flying starter Mystical Mario again shot from trap four and was over three lengths to the good into the turn. Romeo Hanzo went up in second but was pushed out of the way on the bend by his advancing kennelmate Clona Duke.

Clona Duke did close to the third turn but could never get by the leader. He eventually stayed on to finish just a length and a half down in 29.25. While he may have been beaten, this was a more encouraging display from Clona Duke than seven days earlier.

Both Romeo Hanzo and Ballyhimikin Leo found plenty of traffic and this saw them finish last and second last. 

Star Sports/TRC English Derby

Semi-final draw

Heat 1

1 Gaytime Nemo                Graham Holland

2 Clona Duke                       Graham Holland

3 Ballymac Finn                  Liam Dowling

4 Cochise

5 Mystical Mario

6 Ninja Kerry (m)

Heat 2

1 Romeo Top Gun

2 Savana Beau

3 Jacktavern Bella              Graham Holland

4 Romeo Command

5 Swords Rex                       Graham Holland

6 Burj Khalifa (w)               Brendan Matthews