Wi Can James was favourite in the first quarter-final of the 2026 BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby and had previously won well with Croydon Avenger eight lengths behind when housed on the inside of him.
In their renewal, the latter was drawn in trap 1 with Wi Can James now in 5 and the form was reversed.
The fairly level break gave the inside runner a slight advantage and maintained his lead throughout. Coloursaregreen chased resolutely to finish second with Wi Can James qualifying in third.
Bouncing Monarch had two winners, Bockos Gold and Harvard Square to contend with in the next but made no difference to the outcome.
An even quicker exit with a 3.35 split on this occasion in the red vest resulted in a sensational 29.08 winning time.
Runners-up position
Priceless Romeo ran on to take the runners-up position after a slow break with Bockos Gold the additional qualifier.
The third quarter-final was a very open race with four greyhounds all priced-up between 6/4 and 3/1.
Hackney Dancer was favourite and snatched an early lead but the field were queuing up in behind.
Sleight Of Hand took up the running around the last bend and held on as the favourite came again, failing by a neck on the line.
Im Here led temporarily as the principles bunched around the third bend yet stayed on to make it two wide runners through.
Getup The Boy unfortunately missed out when only finishing fifth.
Moderate break
The favourite in the last was the vastly improving Waitingforastar. He gave the front runners a start after a moderate break.
He made progress and challenged on the run-in but Low Profile was a trap-to-line winner by a diminishing half a length. Glengar Phantom maintained a strong gallop to also reach the semi-final stage.
The only remaining bitch Bombay Special was crowded out along the back straight and was eliminated along with Firstpastthepost.
Semi-finals
Two wides and one middle seed went into the drum for the crucial semi-finals draw.
Bockos Gold drew the short straw in trap 5 in the first, although conversely has the only winner Croydon Avenger in opposition.
Waitingforastar is now in trap 2 and made favourite on that basis. Coloursaregreen and Hackney Dancer make up the other inside runners with Im Here the sole wide seed wearing the stripes.
The second has pitched three quarter-final winners together including Bouncing Monarch in trap 4.
It is safe to say that this is his toughest assignment yet with Wi Can James, Sleight Of Hand and Low Profile all on his inside.
Glengar Phantom and Priceless Romeo are naturally in traps 5 and 6 respectively.
Ratings
No surprise that Bouncing Monarch is still ahead in both assessments as well as the highest race rating achievable.
We know they aren’t machines but his performances have been so consistently outstanding up to press, can he be beaten?
Bockos Diamond might be out but are we seeing another greyhound on a par with him when winning two years ago?
Good luck to connections as I am sure they will just be content to reach the final, although Bouncing Monarch’s team would prefer to keep his unbeaten record intact no doubt.
Michael Fortune Memorial Derby Plate
It was plain sailing for backers as all four heats went the way of the top-rated favourite with Roaming Shelby marginally the quickest overall, and at odds against.
Graham Holland and Liam Dowling shared the winners’ rostrum with Swords Style, Ballymac Deniro and Setanta dominating in their respective challenges.
Ballymac Setanta still sets the standard in this competition and the outright favourite.
However, Roaming Shelby looks a big danger as they meet in the second semi-final.
Swords Style and Ballymac Deniro lock horns in the first in what is building up to be a fantastic high calibre event in its own right.
