The withdrawal of Romeo Top Gun from Saturday’s Greyhound Derby semi was inevitable following a hock injury sustained in the quarter finals states trainer Patrick Janssens.
Patrick said: “There was some soreness in the hock so I took him to see Stefano (Malegori – vet) who suggested that we treat him and see how he responds. Since he was still feeling it today, we reluctantly took the decision to withdraw him. He won’t need an operation, but he will need a decent period, in months, before he will be sound enough to trial back.”
Despite the setback, Patrick remains upbeat on the chances of the other Firmager bred hound in the kennel, Romeo Command, who takes on favourite Swords Rex in the five runner qualifier.
Patrick said: “I had three ante post bets before the Derby started, Top Gun, Command and Swords Rex. The way I saw it, Top Gun is a 34.60 Romford dog, and you don’t get many of them in the Derby. I am convinced he was capable of a ’28’ if he’d had a clear run and was always capable of qualifying.
“I have studied Swords Rex’s career for a while and had no doubt how good he is. But I couldn’t be happier with Command. He isn’t only incredibly fast, he is also so clever. He will wait for the gaps and won’t across the field if there isn’t room. I really couldn’t be happier with him at this stage. As a greyhound he has everything, fantastic speed and the most genuine greyhound you will ever see.
” It will be interesting to see what happens if he makes a ‘bingo’ break on Saturday”
