Ice On Fire stands one race away from his third Cat 1 win of the year and making himself a short priced favourite for the 2019 Greyhound of the Year title writes Floyd Amphlett.

In a sport where pundits appear to have memories shorter than the greyhounds that they study, where champions are declared after a couple of flashy runs, Ice On Fire has earned his stripes.

On Monday night he produced a performance worthy of a champion when blowing away a top class field to win his Carling Eclipse semi final by two lengths (see all replays below) in a fastest-of-night, 29.31 for the 500m.

Unaided by summer atmospherics associated with fast times, he equalled his fastest ever sectional (4.86) to extend his career to 13 wins from 16 races. If he were to win on Monday, he would add the Eclipse to his All England Cup and Puppy Classic victories.

The Dave Spraggon owned hound will have won from five different traps – one of the railer’s three defeats came from his only attempt from the six box. He will have beaten the best in training on three different tracks.

To date, only Roxholme Nidge has two Cat Ones to his name this year, a remarkable feat in its own right, given his long battle against lameness.

Ice On Fire’s closest rival for the title would surely be Antigua Fire should he succeed at Perry Barr on Saturday and Jimmy Fenwick’s dog fail on Monday.

Mark Wallis’ runner already has one Cat 1 win to his name, plus a stayers final on Derby Final night. He is also the country’s leading open race points scorer courtesy of reaching other Cat One finals.

Though it is far from a two/three runner race. Forest Alan would also join the ‘two Cats’ ranks should he add to his Kent Derby win, with an Olympic challenge also still possible.

King Sheeran has a Produce Stakes to his name and would be a leading contender for Sheffield’s British Bred Derby.

But none of that – should he win or lose on Monday – will detract from Ice On Fire’s incredible achievements since his debut in April.

By any standards, in any year, he is an exceptional greyhound.

Click on results for replays