There were some dramatic scenes in last night’s Greyhound Derby Quarter Finals and while the top three in the outright market made it through, there were some fancied runners who went crashing out of the competition. The first quarter final saw the Charlie Lister trained Sidaz Jack come right back to form clocking 28.32s to beat kennel mate Hather George by half a length. Tyrur Sugar Ray met a bit of trouble in running but still managed to qualify in third position. Shaneboy Spencer and Farloe Warhawk were the surprise non qualifiers after a coming together on the second bend.
With his victory in race two, Droopys Jet not only clocked the fastest time of the evening with a 28.22s, he also impressed the bookies enough to take favouritism in the outright market. Betfair make Fraser Black’s dog their 3/1 market leader, with the two Ballymac greyhounds on offer at 7/2. Ballymac Vic went through in second place, while Screen Critic grabbed third spot.
It was business as usual for Ballymac Eske in the third quarter final, as Barrie Draper’s greyhound won with a minimum of fuss, scoring in a time of 28.37s and beating Holdem Spy by a length and three quarters. Teejays Bluehawk squeezed through in third place and all three dogs now take their chance in the semi finals.
In the final quarter of the evening, Bittles Bar put up a nice display pining out the boxes and leading them all a merry dance to win in a time of 28.45s. There wasn’t a lot between the rest of the field but Airlie Impact and Bouncy Bocko were the two that made it through to the penultimate stage of the competition. The semi finals take place this Saturday night and all the action can be seen live on Sky Sports.
2013 Greyhound Derby Semi Final Draw
1st Semi Final
1 Ballymac Eske
2 Droopys Jet
3 Hather George (m)
4 Bittles Bar (w)
5 Screen Critic (w)
6 Holdem Spy (w)
2nd Semi Final
1 Tyrur Sugar Ray
2 Teejays Bluehawk
3 Sidaz Jack
4 Ballymac Vic (m)
5 Airlie Impact (w)
6 Bouncy Bocko (w)
2013 Greyhound Derby Betting (Prices from Betfair)
Droopys Jet 3/1
Ballymac Vic 7/2
Ballymac Eske 7/2
Screen Critic 10/1
Sidaz Jack 14/1
Holdem Spy 14/1
Tyrur Sugar Ray 16/1
Teejays Bluehawk 14/1
Bittles Bar 16/1
Hather George 50/1
Airlie Impact 50/1
Bouncy Bocko 66/1