The Graham Holland clash delivers but Sole Mio goes fastest
There are just 24 runners left in the Star Sports & TRC English Greyhound Derby as the third round last night.
Peter Cronin with the fastest third round runner as Diamond hangs tough
It has been said before but it is worth reiterating that Sole Mio had just a solo trial at Towcester ahead of starting his Derby campaign for Peter Cronin. He will make his final start as a puppy in the second quarter-final next week, with the possibility of better in the tank still to come. Dynamic Force and Churchfield Syd continued their strong competitions to chase him home.
The heat of the round was always going to be Bockos Diamond V Cheap Sandwiches and it didn't disappoint. Things didn't go right for the favourite early on but he forced his way to the front at the opening bend, just keeping enough in the tank to hold off his Graham Holland kennelmate by a short heat, with Droopys Bookem coming home in third.
It was a shame that the buckle between defending champion De Lahdedah and Ballinabola Joe came to an abrupt end at the third bend. Joe lacks a little bit of experience compared to his more battle-hardened rival and that seemed to be his undoing. To that point, he had given Liam Dowling's star all he could handle with No Better Feelin and March On Freddie picking up the other qualifying spots.
Patrick Janssens had a double on the night from Slick Sentinel and Droopys Trade, getting four of his six third round runners in the quarter-final draw. Unfortunately for Janssens, three of the four have ended up drawn in the same contest next Saturday alongside Bockos Diamond.
Slick Sentinel opened up the third round heats with a tidy performance to see off One Slick Jamie and Newinn Benni. It was Hello Diego and Tiffield Tarquin who chased home Droopys Trade.
It was not only Sole Mio doing the Kirby form good, Bubbly Charger landed his third round heat for Brendan Matthews. The pair have seen the Kirby winner Faypoint Ranger cut to 14/1 second favourite for the Irish Derby behind just Bockos Diamond. Bombay Pat and Droopys Plunge both qualified but neither looked like troubling the Matthews-trained winner.
A fifth winner of the eight heats for Ireland came from Pat Buckley's Singalong Molly who has the honour of being the last bitch standing. She showed plenty of strength to pick up Faypoint Harvey with Romeo Empire making it through in third, the Patrick Janssens runner improving his finish time with each round.
Michael Burton saw Droopys Aladdin safely book his spot in the quarter-final draw, beating Keefill Maverick and Prince Naseem. His was the sole heat that failed to break 29 seconds but he is the youngest runner left in the last 24 so he deserves plenty of credit.
Heat 1 - 1st Slick Sentinel (t6) - 2nd One Slick Jamie (t4) - 3rd Newinn Benni (t5)
Heat 2 - 1st Bubbly Charger (t4) - 2nd Bombay Pat (t6) - 2rd Droopys Plunge (t2)
Heat 3 - 1st De Lahdedah (t3) - 2nd No Better Feelin (t1) - 3rd March On Freddie (t6)
Heat 4 - 1st Bockos Diamond (t5) - 2nd Cheap Sandwiches (t6) - 3rd Droopys Bookem (t2)
Heat 5 - 1st Droopys Aladdin (t2) - 2nd Keefill Maverick (t5) - 3rd Prince Naseem (t1)
Heat 6 - 1st Droopys Trade (t1) - 2nd Hello Diego (t6) - 3rd Tiffield Tarquin (t5)
Heat 7 - 1st Singalong Molly (t5) - Faypoint Harvey (t1) - 3rd Romeo Empire (t2)
Heat 8 - 1st Sole Mio (t3) - 2nd Dynamic Force (t5) - 3rd Churchfield Syd (t6)
Track record holder sees off the return of Rioja Oisin
Liz McNair won two of the three opens on Central Park's Saturday night card. King Presley saw off Stonepark Hoffa a fortnight ago at the track and showed that he is a huge player in the upcoming Arena Racing Company Kent Silver Salver on his home patch by beating Rioja Oisin on the return to the track of the 2024 Scurry winner.
McNair also saw Queen Shakira doing the business, another to hold off a Kevin Hutton runner as she just beat Highview Jasman. The other open on the card went to Blastoff Kobbie for Dan Brabon who made every yard after returning from a couple of trials at Romford.
Another four for Kevin Hutton at Oxford
A four-timer on Saturday night took Kevin Hutton up to 90 open race winners for the year. That leaves him second only to Mark Wallis in terms of volume. A head separated Antigua Kestrel from a run at Towcester last night instead of Oxford but he made a smart six-bend debut, clocking the sixth quickest time of the year over 650m in the process, stopping the clock in 39.53.
The quickest winner over 450m on the night was Start The Engine who opened up the night for Hutton with a 26.66 victory. The other pair who triumphed for the kennel were Union Piper and Coppice Trophy, the latter bringing some relief to the bookmakers as the only open race winner who didn't go off favourite.
Rachel Hill picked up a double on the evening with Berties Decision and Quivers Jake. The former is a huge 38kg puppy with some decent early gears and is worth keeping on the right side of. Drews Fantasy won the only other open on the card for David Lewis, another making a six-bend debut.
Fradgley and Milner on target at Doncaster
Just two opens at Doncaster last night with Semtex Boy winning for David Fradgley and Keefill Dares scoring for Phil Milner. The former is a promising pup who now has three wins from his first seven career starts. The latter has been very hard to beat in graded company, winning five of her last seven B1 contests.
Upcoming Opens
Monday:Nottingham
Tuesday: Swindon
Friday: Romford
Saturday: Towcester
