Bockos gets a Diamond draw for Derby final

Diamond draw for Bockos

The sponsors make Bockos Diamond the 11/10 favourite to win the Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby at Towcester on Saturday following today’s draw for the final.

With three railers and three wide seeds in the hat for the £175,000 shoot out this weekend, the draw was always going to be crucial and connections of the Irish Derby hero were delighted with being handed the striped jacket.

His kennelmates and fellow wide seeds Bombay Pat and Cheap Sandwiches drew traps four and five respectively, while defending champion De Lahdedah is refusing to relinquish his crown without a fight and Liam Dowling’s dog will go in the white jacket.

Aiming to give Peter Cronin his first Derby victory, Sole Mio got trap two, while the Patrick Janssens-trained Droopys Plunge, who is the only UK representative, is drawn on the rails.

Derby final draw with prices from Star Sports:

1 Droopys Plunge  (Patrick Janssens) 14-1

2 Sole Mio (Peter Cronin) 11-2

3 De Lahdedah (Liam Dowling) 7-2

4 Bombay Pat (Graham Holland) 12-1 (w)

5 Cheap Sandwiches (Graham Holland) 7-2 (w)

6 Bockos Diamond (Graham Holland) 11-10 (w)

Star Sports / TRC English Greyhound Derby Final Trainer Quotes

Jonathan Hobbs spoke to the trainers of the six finalists at the Greyhound Derby lunch at Towcester today.

DROOPYS PLUNGE

Trainer Patrick Janssens said: ''He wants trap one, so we are pleased to have that draw. He's fit, well and knows the track, so fingers crossed''.

When asked about the crowd on Saturday night and Droopys Plunge's ability to handle that, Janssens went onto say: "Yes, he will handle it. He's getting better and better every time."

SOLE MIO

Trainer Patrick Cronin said: "He's a fantastic dog, very straightforward, seems to be doing things right and has got stronger as the competition has gone on. It's a fantastic final. You could run the final a number of times and get a different result each time. He is bombproof and has no real chinks in his armour. He seems to trap faster here and hopefully on Saturday night he can do a 3.95 or 3.90 sectional, that would be great."

DE LAHDEDAH

Trainer Liam Dowling said: "He comes back to try and defend his title, he's lightly campaigned and is running super. After the Winter Festival and Easter Cup, we put him away for this." When asked about joining the esteemed list of previous winners who have retained their crown, Dowling added: "It's fantastic to be mentioned in that group but I don't think about it."

BOMBAY PAT

Nicky Holland, wife of trainer Graham Holland, said: "Once his feet hit the ground, he's as fast as anything but it's just about the trapping. Early in the competition he did 4.00 and he needs to do that in the final."

CHEAP SANDWICHES

Nicky Holland, wife of trainer Graham Holland, said: "He's a very fast dog in his own right. He keeps bumping into Bockos Diamond, but it's a final and anything can happen in finals."

BOCKOS DIAMOND

Nicky Holland, wife of trainer Graham Holland, said: "He was off for five months, so it takes time to get back running with race fitness. When he runs like the semi-final, he's phenomenal and we need that in the final."

Owner Graham Box added: "I've got to the semi-finals three times before and been knocked out each time, but this year we got through and the dream is on. I can't wait for Saturday, I'll be wreck by then! I said I wasn't bothered if he got trap four, five or six, but six is a great draw for us and he trapped from there last week. Hopefully, he'll trap like that again."