Greyhound ratings analyst Peter Walker runs the rule over the runners competing in Round 2 of the Irish Greyhound Derby.
We may have only had the first round of twenty-six heats so far but we’ve witnessed some remarkable performances already. We (British contingent) were to begin the event with four representatives but Greenwell Coe was withdrawn from heat seven after picking up an injury – not the start we wanted. Keefill Maverick ran in hot heat eleven and did his connections proud. His race was won by Tarsna Maasai whose sectional of 3.33 was quickest over the two nights. It was a gallant run and although he came fifth, his finishing time repeated in some of the other heats would have been enough to go through, even as a fastest qualifier in fourth place! However, the best was yet to come on Saturday night as the star of the show was none other than our own representative March On Freddie. He flew into the first bend and left his rivals toiling away chasing the minor honours in his wake. He was fastest of all, eventually stopping the clock at 29.19, four spots quicker than Bockos Diamond who had also impressed so much the previous evening. We still had Arthur Cornflake yet to come and he didn’t disappoint, chasing home another wide trap six winning greyhound only ¾ length behind.
The live draw soon followed and there were 53 inside seeds in the drum with 54% going through from an original entry of 99, 18 middle seeds (67% from 24 – includes 2 reseeded from inside) and 25 wides from 33 (76%). Winners from traps one, two and three were in short supply (4 winners in total, with 9 out of 10 losing favourites/joint favourite), with Untold Dollar as the only successful favourite from trap 3. Traps four, five and six supplied 22 winners, 9 of which were favourites. It’s looking likely we may have an abundance of wide seeds qualifying from the second round, such is the strength in depth taking part this year.
The ratings of all second-round heats are again carried out independently at this stage. After the next round, all 48 qualifiers will be assessed collectively and becomes relevant where a direct comparison can be calculated more accurately. All remaining greyhounds will have had at least two competitive races over the track and distance. Before then, we have sixteen heats to look forward to this Friday and Saturday – I can’t wait!
Friday 8.03
Friday 8.18
Friday 8.32
Friday 8.48
Friday 9.06
Friday 9.24
Friday 9.39
Friday 9.54
Saturday 8.03
Saturday 8.18
Saturday 8.32
Saturday 8.48
Saturday 9.06
Saturday 9.24
Saturday 9.39
Saturday 9.54
