Live on Sky Sports 4 this evening, we have full coverage of the third round of this year’s William Hill Greyhound Derby. RPGTV have done a great job of bringing the early stages of the competition to us, but Sky now take over, showing every round right through to the final on June 29th. Now almost at the half way stage, the greyhounds that started at the head of the betting have largely remained there thus far, and there have been very few shocks. Maybe that will change tonight, or maybe the likes of Ballymac Eske and Droopys Jet will enhance their reputations further still.
Our bookmaker friends have kindly priced all eight third round heats up nice and early so here are our fancies for each race with our best bets for the evening highlighted. The show begins at 7:30pm and by the time it comes to a conclusion at 9:30pm, we will know the 24 dogs that will be heading on to Tuesday night’s quarter finals.
7:34pm
A fantastic way to open proceedings with one of the favourites for the title Droopys Jet coming out of trap six. Irish bookmaker Paddy Power are very bravely going a stand out price of 2/1, so they obviously fancy getting Frazer Black’s dog beat. I honestly quite shock that 2/1 is available and for me, this greyhound has to be a bet at the price. The 11/8 with Ladbrokes was more the kind of mark I’d have put the striped jacket in at. Obviously, this is a nightmare draw scenario with all six runners wanting the inside traps, but I feel Droopys has enough class to see him through to the quarters via another victory.
Back Trap 6 Droopys Jet @ 2/1 with Paddy Power
7:49pm
Possibly a bit of a non event here as far as a betting medium goes with the outright Derby second favourite Ballymac Vic put in as a 1/4 chance to win this third round heat. This greyhound appears to have the perfect draw in trap three and just looks head and shoulders above the opposition. As far as the forecast goes, Cloheena Micky might be the value play. He ran a very good race when beating Skate On by two and a half lengths last week and can grab second spot.
Back Forecast 3&5
8:04pm
The third heat of the evening and thankfully, the betting isn’t quite as one sided as the previous race. I was looking for an angle to oppose Shaneboy Spencer with but the more I looked at the race, the less chance I thought the one dog had of getting turned over. He has a vacant trap on his inside, and if Liz McNair’s runner can repeat any of his efforts thus far in this competition, he should be very hard to beat. Nothing else in the race makes much appeal and I wouldn’t be surprised about any of the four filling the places. Paddy Power go 5/4 and that’s good enough for me.
Back Trap 1 Shaneboy Spencer @ 5/4 with Paddy Power
8:19pm
Another favourite I fancy I’m afraid. I just can’t desert Sidaz Jack after he got the job done for me last time out. He’s young, improving and has an excellent draw where he should easily get up the inside of Fermoy Henry in trap two. Odds on generally, William Hill have put Charlie Lister’s greyhound in at 5/4 which is more than fair going on his form thus far in the competition. Benkaat Nero was second to the selection last time out and can fill that spot again.
Back Trap 1 Sidaz Jack @ 5/4 with William Hill Nap
8:34pm
Time to take on a favourite with the fifth heat presenting us with what looks like a real value betting opportunity. The Craig Dawson trained Boherna Rumble has been priced up early at odds of 6/1 with Paddy Power and I believe that is a huge mistake on the part of the Irish bookmaker. The five dog has yet to run a bad race here and wasn’t disgraced behind Ballymac Eske last time. Boherna’s times compare favourably with anything else in the field, and I can see him landing this heat at rewarding odds.
Back Trap 5 Boherna Rumble @ 6/1 with Paddy Power
8:49pm
Just like the second heat, this race looks very much at the mercy of a Ballymac runner, this time it’s Eske‘s turn to entertain the crowd and cement his position as 2013 William Hill Derby favourite. William Hill are being generous with their quote of 2/5 as Barrie Draper’s greyhound is a 1/4 chance generally. He was breathtaking in the last round when clocking a time of 28.31 and I’d imagine some pros will be happy to take the odds on. Once again I’ll play a forecast here but I’m going for the rank outsider, the five dog Islas Scolari. Seamus Cahill’s runner has put up some very respectable times over course and distance and might well be able to grab second spot.
Back Forecast 1&5
9:04pm
The penultimate race of the evening and one where I’m very sweet on the chances of the six dog Screen Critic, who arrives in round three on the back of two impressive victories. This greyhound has an excellent draw when you consider the five dog doesn’t trap anything like as well, and he should be able to take full advantage from the outside box. Take the 9/4 on offer with Ladbrokes. Favourite Farloe Warhawk is the obvious danger following his excellent 28.41 in the previous round but I just feel that Screen Critic will have the edge tonight, largely due to his draw advantage.
Back Trap 6 Screen Critic @ 9/4
9:19pm
Heat eight and the bookies appear to be divided over the chances of favourite Shaneboy Alley. As short as 11/8 with Ladbrokes, the six dog can be backed at 2/1 with both Bet Victor and Coral. While he impressed when accounting for Droopys Jet in round one, Liz McNair’s dog was very lucky to sneak through in his last heat after meeting trouble in running. At the prices, I prefer the chances of Mark Wallis’ dog, Garryglass Rodge. The three dog has done absolutely nothing wrong in the first two rounds of the competition and built on his close second place finish behind Ballymac Eske, with a three and a quarter length victory last time out. 9/2 is available with Betfred and that is decent value.
Back Trap 3 Garryglass Rodge @ 9/2 with Betfred NB
Leave a Reply