WE are down to three in the Derby going into the ’48 stage’ and ‘sods law’ has seen the ‘Evanta’ girls Fantasy and Evita drawn together in a really tough heat. There are at least five in the field who will want to dominate to the first bend off 4.70 sectionals, including our pair. It doesn’t get much tougher than this.

Our other dog Blonde Nipper is closer to the rail than I would like him. But he is slowly coming to hand and I am really hoping he can get through this stage. We then hit the ‘three runs in a week’ stage which I think will suit him down to the ground – if we are still in it.

Realistically we have three 40-1 chances and need a bit of luck.

 

At least we didn’t cop for the notorious fifth heat which features three of the top six in the betting: Farloe Blitz (T1), Newinn Yolo (T3) and Eden The Kid (T4).

It looks an incredibly tough call and I can’t see all three of them getting through. If Farle Blitz traps like he did last week, then the others are in trouble. Newinn Yolo ran very well and is showing his true colours. If any of the trio is vulnerable it is probably Eden The Kid, given the difficult draw.

Although I don’t expect them all to qualify, I am a greyhound enthusiast and would always want to see the best dogs do well.

It has been a very good Derby and there could still be a few twists and turns. There always seems to be a surprise runner in there and this year will probably be no exception. Maybe Richard Yeates’ dog? Maybe a finalist for Kevin (Hutton).

If you can’t enjoy the Derby, you shouldn’t be in the game.

 

We are back at Romford on Friday with a decent number of runners. We have a broad spread of owners and some of them treat Romford as their home track. It is good to see the track making the effort by staging more competitions on a Friday. I much prefer them to one-offs.

Perhaps the most interesting runner is Adageo Bob. As expected, his stamina kicked in during the Derby, and although he was unlucky not to qualify, this was always the likely scenario.

He has trap four in the last race on the card. It will be his 30th race at the track and he has won 20 of the first 29. I think he real record though is the number of times he has broken 35.00 for the 575 metres: 10.

Ironically, perhaps my favourite of all his races was a second place to our other dog Reel Trickyone in the 2013 Essex Vase final which just about secured that year’s Trainers Championship title.

I would suggest readers might also like to keep an eye on Garryglass Pixie in the ‘750’ open.

She has a stinking draw in five – she is a bang railer – but I do think a lot of her and with any luck she could develop into a very decent bitch this year.

If there was a championship for eating she would win that too. She eats like a horse!