Liam Dowling's defending champion is De Lahdespectaculah!

The Derby double is still on for both De Lahdedah and Bockos Diamond

The winning style of the two Star Sports/TRC English Greyhound Derby semi-finals could not have been any different. After five strides De Lahdedah looked like he might be in a bit of trouble while with the striped jacket on his back, after five strides from Bockos Diamond, it was all over. Back-to-back English Derby wins V Irish/English Derby double, what a final we have in store!

Sole Mio had taken a flier from red in the opening semi for Peter Cronin. After his slick 28.54 win in round three off the same 3.95 split, when he went round in front, it looked tough for anyone to pick him up. De Lahdedah was in front of just Droopys Bookem at the split and even that was only by a short head. That was enough though. He edged almost a length ahead of that rival as the bend loomed and with the red jacket out in front, he could run the bend unimpeded.

Once De Lahdedah had moved into second halfway down the back, suddenly the result felt inevitable. Liam Dowling's defending champion is looking imperious, even when he has to do things the hard way, eventually breaking the beam in 28.62. 

He drew level with Bombay Pat as they hit the second bend and from there, took four lengths out of the Graham Holland-trained dog. His slowest run in the Derby so far is 28.81, a model of consistency.

It was Bombay Pat who took the last spot in the final, with Droopys Bookem in fourth after a coming together with Slick Sentinel cost him a place in the decider. One Holland runner ticked off, two to go.

The third round clash between Bockos Diamond and Cheap Sandwiches was a classic, their semi-final matchup was a clinic... in brute speed. The second round had been the top performance for Bockos Diamond. Stripes on his back, a clean exit and clear at the bend. Even against deeper opposition it was the same story with stripes on his back last night.

In fact, it was so similar, he even went and clocked the same winning time of 28.51 again. Cheap Sandwiches safely booked his place in another Derby final, a length and three-quarters behind his kennelmate to give Holland half of the finalists. An achievement that hasn't been done for two whole years since Holland had three in the 2023 decider! You'd have to go back to 2003 for a Charlie Lister trio before that so to do it twice in three years is nothing short of sensational.

There was some good news for the British fans as Droopys Plunge came home in third for Patrick Janssens. The best news of the night came from Kevin Hennessy who reported that Dynamic Force who had broken down in the second semi was comfortable and had eaten his dinner.

Supporting Opens

It was Scooby The Boss for Nathan Hunt who landed the quicker of the PriceUp.bet Derby Plate semis. The betting and the crowd fully expected to see Val Tashadelek march into the final but Graham Holland's dog walked out and then paced up into trouble. It was left to Tom Heilbron's Deliverooo and Carol Weatherall's The Other Boss to chase the Hunt runner down, though his winning margin was four lengths in a very decent 28.84.

A 29.25 success looks rather pedestrian on paper in the other semi for Paul Hennessy's Lennies Desire, especially after he broke the track record a week ago. There will be less bumping on the funfair dodgems next Saturday than he suffered during his contest with Romeo Tomcat (Patrick Janssens) showing huge speed to heat the winner going into the third bend. It was Kilmore Dancer for Mark Wallis who filled out the qualifying spots,

The two semis of the BetGoodwin Derby Challenge had looked superb on paper and the stayers didn't disappoint. Vhagar briefly stepped up to six bends for a heat of the bet365 Hunt Cup at Oxford for Wallis and the return to a longer distance has been the making of her. She clocked a barely believable 15.59 sectional on her way to a 42.21 demolition. Breton Molly for Janssens and Wallis's Bombay Nutty also qualified for the final.

It's Savana Jackpot who holds the track record for the 712m distance at 42.02 and while he was not close to that in his semi, he got the job done for Diane Henry to land a fourth win on the spin. August and September 2023 in the first and second races of his career was the only time prior he had been successful back-to-back so he has hit form with a vengeance. His kennelmate Savanaregimental chased him home with Amazing Zeus grabbing third for Richard Rees.

The Towcester card opened with the three semis of the Time Greyhound Nutrition Sprint Trophy. It was all action from the start as Shadow Storm made it a perfect 2/2 in his career for Rees. He had looked a smart type in trials and he has backed that up spectacularly in his race action. He stopped the clock in 15.51, with 28 spots over his nearest rival, his kennelmate Avarua Zlatan who was runner-up to him. 

Belmullet Boozer also took advantage of the red jacket to land his semi for Seamus Gaughan. A litter brother to bet365 English Puppy Oaks winner Yahoo Maizy, he too loves the Northamptonshire venue, holding off Roy Peckham's Tullymurry Kane by half a length.

Although he was the slowest of the semi-final winners, Not So Slow is capable of plenty more than his 15.84 winning time. It was Ronnie's Oscar for Alfie Herbert who had put the pace to the race early on and he deservedly kept going to qualify. The Janssens-trained winner might have a bit to do if he is to deal with Shadow Storm judged purely on their semi-final times but he has a 15.45 on his card at the end of May so next week's final could be spectacular. 

The two semis of the Truframe Champion Stakes saw Romeo Steel a hugely impressive winner of the first for Janssens. There was early pace inside him but he cleared them to run out a three and a quarter length winner from Phil Milner's Keefill Goose, with Queen Shakira claiming the final qualifying spot for Liz McNair.

Laurence Tuffin landed the other semi with Fabulous Livia. She had not come away as well as she can in the heats but drawn inside of Fabulous Sonique instead of outside was a big help to her. She popped out in front to see off Heather Dimmock's Spiridon Louis with Wallis's bitch getting third spot. 

The Greyhoundtrader Stakes semis went to Belinda Green's Gary The Arb and Chris Fereday's Ballymac Odin. It was a return to winning ways for the defending champion who had his trapping boots on to run riot in 29.07. Radical Scoby again came home strongly to grab second for Maxine Locke with Beatties Razl rounding out the qualifiers for Kim Billingham-Hine. 

Odin was the shock of the night at 33/1 but he gutsily drove the opening turn and reaped the benefits of that, pulling out enough of a lead to hold off the powerful finish of Gingers Rubin for Patrick Browne. The other qualifier was Zenith Quincy for Rees who did not have the same clear run drawn the opposite way around with Gingers Rubin compared to their heat.