Ballymac William left quite an impression on the bookmakers following last night’s performance in the semi-finals of The Ladbrokes Puppy Derby Cup. William went on to produce an entertaining performance, clocking an impressive best-of-night and currently also the best-of-the competition time of 28.27secs across the 480m, which in result has made him the ante-post market favourite for next Thursday's final.
William pinged out of trap one in the second semi-final race as the 4-5 favourite but it was trainer Pat Rosney’s Bower Eagle (9-4) who gave backers false hope as he led the pack from the start. Eagle’s efforts for replicating last week’s performance were short-lived as William eventually caught up by halfway, and cleared the mark by almost four lengths. Eagle took second which was good enough to see him through into next week’s £12,500 final.
Trainer Carly Philpott had a double celebration on the night - not only did William produce a smashing time in the second semi-final but her other dog in the competition, Millies Hawk (7-4 favourite), showed great consistency in the first, setting a time of 28.42secs. Hawk was drawn with a trap-six start for the second time in the competition and managed to take second in the race, a result which was good enough to see him through into next Thursday’s final in which he will once again be making yet another trap-six start.
The bookmakers have ranked Hawk the second favourite to take the Cup. It was Champion trainer Mark Wallis’s Director Spur (12-1) who took first by clocking 28.36secs.
The third semi-final offered a more laid-back pack. Trainer Barrie Draper’s charge Farley Totti (5-2) took first in 28.71secs, whilst Star Glaze (3-1) sealed the last spot to the final by taking second in 28.83secs. Both dogs will have to raise their game on Thursday night in order to compete with the likes of William and Hawk.
The market gurus seem to think the Puppy Derby will go to trainer Philpott, and although she stands a double chance on the night, everyone knows Wallis as a trainer to produce champions. Wallis’s Spur is offering great returns of 8-1 for the final, and although he has only run six races, he improved his time significantly with a trap-one draw and will be starting behind the same trap on Thursday night. We all know the shocker Wallis produced on the Derby final with Kinda Ready who was a 25-1 shot, and I have a feeling Spur will prove to be a big threat on the night to Philpott’s duo.
Draw for Thursday’s £12,500 Ladbrokes Puppy Derby final: 1 Directors Spur, 2 Ballymac William, 3 Bower Eagle, 4 Farley Totti, 5 Star Gaze, 6 Millies Hawk.
Tags: