It is a shame the Derby is coming to an end but the build-up has been tremendous and the excitement second to none, writes Peter Walker.
The climax this Saturday culminates what has been five fantastic weeks of top-class greyhound racing at its best.
Towcester has pulled out all the stops and deserve praise for running all the other competitions as well as the main event like clockwork.
The sport still has many issues to address but this Derby has shown how good it is when we let the greyhounds take the limelight.
Semi-final 1
The punters in the first semi-final latched onto Epic Ace (6/4F) and Ballymac Deniro (5/2) as the top two in the betting.
However, the anticipated contest between them didn’t materialise as Ace appeared to lose his footing at traps rise.
He is the fastest ever to cover the 500m in this year’s Derby, but the Towcester Jinx has humbled every track-record holder before him.
He never recovered as Deniro quickly raced to the front at the opening bend and never looked like getting caught. He was only one spot outside the record in a time of 28.15.
The race for the other qualifying places was eventually settled as Lennies Eddie (5/1) and Ballymac Duffle (5/1) finished second and third respectively.
The bitch Strike It Skye met with trouble as the chasing pack bunched up and was shuffled back in the field. She missed out in fourth place along with Ballymac Iroko.
Semi-final 2
In the second, Ballymac Ralf (2/1) was slight favourite with Scooby The Lady (9/4) and Proper Heiress (5/2) close behind with the layers.
Hackney Corner (6/1) had other ideas as he flew to the bend posting a fastest 3.73 split in the process.
Heiress battled hard to try and reel the leader in but to no avail. The favourite ran on well after trailing in last place approaching the back straight to finish second.
Lennies Tank stayed out wide and snatched third as Scooby and Heiress were overtaken after their early exertions.
Unfortunately, both bitches were now eliminated as well as the hopes of a British trained greyhound in the final as Sole Focus could not get in a blow after a slow start.
The final
Among the qualifiers were two middles and one wide so a healthy spread of seeds in the drum for the last time.
Lennies Tank automatically went in trap 6. The railers drawn out were Ballymac Duffle in 1, his litter brother Ralf in 2 and Lennies Eddie in 3.
The potentially crucial trap 4 position went to Hackney Corner and therefore Ballymac Deniro on his outside in 5.
Ratings
The complete statistical analysis and figures are shown below which now include all previous trap placements and corresponding split timings for each finalist.
Ballymac Deniro has improved his position at the top of the ratings but would prefer to be on Hackney Corner’s inside in the final.
Ballymac Duffle in trap 1 could be a negative but he achieved his first track record from that box in the opening round.
Ballymac Ralf is in the most successful box with 19 wins in trap 2. He will probably need another 3.75 sectional similar to his third-round performance to get competitive early to take advantage.
Lennies Eddie could get squeezed out at the first bend with pace at either side of him.
Regrettably, Lennies Tank has subsequently been withdrawn but had overcome the disadvantage of running out of trap 6 in every round to qualify.
The final is close to call and not sure which greyhound will be favourite on the night.
Followers have Ballymac’s Ralf each-way (first four) and Deniro win only so hopefully a pay-out either way.
My idea of the winner is Ballymac Deniro who is approaching the peak of his powers at the right time.
He has to get past Hackney Corner who is a big danger, but so are all the stars of the show in what is a brilliant line-up and a race to savour.
I have compiled ratings for most of the open races and additional finals to help find winners on the night.
It is without doubt the best meeting of the year in this country at Towcester.
Alas, I have commitments at home so cannot be there on this occasion.
I will be back later in the year when the Irish Derby begins and we do it all again.
