Derby winner Rio Quattro will not be in the line-up for the forthcoming Betfred Select Stakes and will go to stud in Ireland.
Owner-trainer Danny Riordan said: “The heart said ‘go for the (Irish) Derby’, but the head said ‘be sensible, think of your health’, and so we decided to retire him. We had a lot of offers from here and abroad to stand him at stud or to buy him but we wouldn’t be interested in that.
“It will take a few weeks to get all the paperwork sorted out for him to travel, and we’d like to have him about the place for a bit longer and then he will go back to Sean and Michael (Dunphy).
Eden The Kid and Swift Keith were the latest names in the book and will be considered alongside the six already confirmed entries for the £7,500 invitation event which will be held at Nottingham on Tuesday July 21.
The greyhound press meet on Friday to select the six 500 metre runners and track spokesman Dave Baldwin does not envy their task.
He said: “I don’t know who you are going to leave out. How do you choose between a dog who has already won a major competition and one who hasn’t but you fancy more to win here on the 21st?”
“There is a good quality entry and spread well between rails, middle and wides. We would normally ask those who aren’t accepted to stand by as reserves but that only lasts a week. If they don’t think they are going to get a run, connections will normally want to run in one of the £1,000 supporting races.
“But it’s a tough call. In recent years Jordansoilution and Pay Freeze have only just scraped into the race but then gone on and won it.”
Entries
Domino Storm (R)
Kippers Usain (R)
Swiift Keith (R)
Eden The Kid (M)
Making Paper (M)
Swift Hoffman (W)
Viking Jack (W)
