Heat one
T1 – Tamna King. T2 – Jordansolutions, T3 – Wilfy Wells, T4 – Bridge Diamond, T5 – Westmead Scolari, T6 – Final Washington.
The Scottish Derby gets underway with a hugely competitive first heat which includes outright ante-post favourite Jordansolutions. Charlie Lister, whose record in this competition includes four wins in seven years, trains Jordansolutions but will be apprehensive about his chances given the tough first heat opposition. Jordansolutions comes up against a selection of dogs who, if they can recapture their best form, will make it difficult for the Lister runner even to make the top three. The one that will provide the biggest danger is FINAL WASHINGTON, who has clocked a time of 29.18secs over this distance on a previous run which is the quickest in the field. His latest form at Sheffield suggests that he has put his poor winter form behind him and permitting that he doesn’t miss the break should be in a position to pull away down the back straight. Don’t rule out Nick Saava’s runner Westmead Scolari either, who ran a blistering trial at Henlow last week and should be knocking on the door of the first three.
Recommendation – Lay Jordansolutions, and take him on with either Final Washington or Westmead Scolari.
Bettor.com tricast- 6 + 4 +3.
Heat two
T1 – Mussels Galore, T2 – Face my Fortune, T3 – Bikerton Morry, T4 – Flors Power, T5 – Killeford Fire, T6 – Greenwell River.
Heat two throws together two competitors that finished first and second in a recent Shawfield trial. KILLEFORD FIRE finished nearly two lengths off Bikerton Morry in the aforementioned race but missed the break that day and can turn the tables this time around. The selection went on to win his latest trial last week and had some decent animals trailing in his wake that day. Bikerton Morry should have the early speed in order to secure his qualification. Veteran Shawfield runner Greenwell River can improve on his first round exit last year, and qualify in front of a mediocre bunch.
Recommendation – Combination Tricast on Killeford Fire, Bikerton Morry and Greenwell River.
Bettor.com tricast – 5 + 3 + 6.
Heat three
T1 – Amazing Value, T2 – Ardkill Ernie, T3 – Ballymac Rebound, T4 – Greenwell Shadow, T5 – De Ex Factor, T6 – Honey Trampas.
Irish raider DE EX FACTOR should have too much in the tank for his rivals in heat three. The selection impressively won the Shelbourne Gold Cup just over a week ago and has the ability to go a long way in this competition, the ante post 16-1 will no doubt shorten if he impresses in the heats. His main competition in this race should come in the form of Amazing Value, who has clocked some impressive times but has struggled when racing at Shawfield. The third qualification looks up for grabs and the form suggest Ballymac Rebound has the beating of Greenwell Shadow, so he gets the nod.
Recommendation – Take the ante post 16-1 on De Ex Factor to win the Scottish Derby.
Bettor.com tricast – 5 + 1 + 3
Heat four
T1 – Extremely Ard, T2 – Hill Tipoki, T3 – Beaming Dilemma, T4 – Miss Majestic, T5 – Brave Lee Roye, T6 – Blood of Kings.
One of the tightest heats of the night, with plenty of unexposed dogs that ran quick times in the trials. The nod just goes to another Irish hope BEAMING DILEMMA who represents the Pat Buckley yard. The only negative surrounding the bright prospect would be the fact he has not run at Shawfield before. If he fails to get to grips with the track then Blood of Kings could be an alternative option. He ran an impressive time of 29.31secs in a recent trial and that would be enough to win here but his previous runs suggest that run may have been a flash in the pan. Brave Lee Roye was another one who ran a cracking trail time but like Blood of Kings is not the most consistent type.
Recommendation – Beaming Dilemma to qualify.
Bettor.com tricast – 3 + 5 + 6
Heat five
T1 – Droopys Kentucky, T2 – Nambisco, T3 – Sniper Petra, T4 – Melview Ace, T5 – Ardkill Tunoco, T6 – Farloe Lee
ARDKILL TUNOCO is near the head of the ante post markets and it is easy to see why. The selection has a fantastic record round Shawfield including clocking a time of 29.06secs in December. Charlie Lister’s runner Farloe Lee is outside Ardkill Tunoco in trap six and is fancied here but ran a poor trial, and it could prove wise to look elsewhere for challengers to the selection. Droopys Kentucky has had a very successful season so far and has six wins from eight races. He should out trap Nabisco in trap two and secure a prominent place by the first bend. The third spot can go to Sniper Petra who despite not impressing in previous races ran an absolute stormer of a trial last week and a repeat of that will be enough to qualify.
Recommendation – Lay Farloe Lee at 4-1.
Bettor.com tricast – 5 + 1 + 3
Heat six
T1 – Plough Lane, T2 – Ardera Monarch, T3 – Ardmayle Courier, T4 – November Weather, T5 – Sunoak Crystal, T6 – Shanaway Rex
Craig Dawson should be celebrating two wins from two heats, as both his runners in this race should qualify with a bit to spare. NOVEMBER WEATHER just gets the nod over Ardera Monarch. The selection has recently transferred over from Pat Buckley’s yard to Dawson’s, and it’s hard not to see him not making all. Ardera Monarch should be closing in on him down the final straight but the rest of the field are at least half a second off the two market leaders.
Recommendation – Reverse Forecast November Weather/Ardera Monarch.
Bettor.com tricast – 4 + 2 + 3
Heat seven
T1 – Tyrur Speedy, T2 – Micky Robby, T3 – Ronaldos Goal, T4 – Was Not Me, T5 – Newlawn Class, T6 – Drumcrow General.
Two of the ante post market leaders come head-to-head in heat seven, TYRUR SPEEDY and Newlawn Class should qualify easily from a heat lacking in strength in depth. The selection, whose poor showing in the Trainers Championship cost trainer Charlie Lister the title, will be looking to bounce back to form here. He found trouble in running in that race and will be a major player come the latter rounds of the competition. However he will find it tough in this heat with another top class dog Newlawn Class racing from trap five. Pat Buckley’s Irish runner beat Derby favourite Eye Onthe Storm earlier this season and has to be respected if back to his best.
Recommendation – Reverse Forecast Tyrur Speedy/Newlawn Class
Bettor.com tricast - 1 + 5 + 4
Heat eight
T1 – Yahoo Jaime, T2 – Westmead Bond, T3 – Target Classic, T4 – Yorkshire Star, T5 – Greenwell Viper, T6 – St Louis Spirit
This could be the most competitive heat of the night. Three dogs will unfortunately go out of the Derby in this heat running times that will be considerably quicker than some winning times in previous heats. YORKSHIRE STAR may provide the value in this race around the 6-1 mark. The selection is currently unbeaten in four starts and even though this is a step up in class he looks a progressive sort who possesses an incredibly fast start. If he gets to the first bend in front, he may be hard to pass. A case could be made for all the runners bar Greenwell Viper, with Yahoo Jaime at the head of the market. Charlie Lister’s runner hasn’t run a competitive race since Christmas and could take a couple of races to reach his optimum level of performance and in a heat of this quality could come unstuck. Westmead Bond and St Louis Spirit can cause an upset and knock out the ante post second favourite.
Recommendation – Lay Yahoo Jaime to win the race at 11-8.
Bettor.com tricast – 4 + 2 + 6
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