Irish Greyhound Derby continues with quarter-finals on Saturday
The Ladbrokes.com Irish Greyhound Derby is up for grabs after derby favourites Makeshift and Farley Blitz failed to qualify for the fourth round. The quarter-final races are scheduled to go Saturday night at Shelbourne Park.
The first heat will feature two of last week’s winners. Monlesa Alsation won heat eight over Foyle Storm by 2 lengths, and Barefoot Bullet won heat seven over Tyrur Enda by a shoulder. Alsation will race from the fifth trap and Bullet from the sixth. Colorful Champ, racing from the first trap, had the fastest time of this group last week, but finished third in his heat. Last week Whatsup Jack, who drew the second trap, took an early lead, and held it for the first half of the race before dropping to second in the third leg, he ultimately finished in third. Tyrur Enda finished second last week to Barefoot Bullet by a shoulder and will look to extract some revenge. Ballymac Under will start in the fourth trap.
The second heat features only one third round winner in Tyrur Mcguigan. Mcguigan is a middle runner coming from the sixth trap, and will hard pressed to repeat last week’s victory. Blazers Black came from fifth position to take third last week after winning both his previous heats, and will run from the first trap. Freedom Seacrest, in the second trap, also took first in her first two heats, but couldn’t beat Tullymurry Act in the third round. Krug Ninety Five was in sixth after the first bend last week but managed to move all the way up to second. Razldazl Lord will run from the fourth trap, and Foyle Storm will run from the third. Storm lost the lead to Monlesa Alsation in the final moments of her heat last week.
Fan favourite, Kinda Ready, who is looking to become only the second hound to win both an English derby and an Irish derby, will race in the third heat. Last week Ready took an early lead and held it to beat Thurlesbeg Joker by 4 lengths. Both hounds will have to watch out for derby favourite, Tyrur Big Mike, who won his last two races with little challenge from the competition. Adding even more intrigue to this heat will be Mesedo Blue who has yet to lose a race in the Irish Greyhound Derby. Killacolla Glory, racing from the fourth trap, will look to improve upon last week’s second place finish. Westmead Grant was in fifth at the halfway point last week, but managed to finish second behind Mesedo Blue. Without doubt this is the heat to watch on Saturday although betting on it is risky.
The fourth and final heat has two more winners from last week’s heats in Tullymurry Act and Hats My Boy. Act lead from the traps in his third round heat and won easily. Hats My Boy was slow from the traps, but was able to take first by 4 lengths over Krug Ninety Five. Dromore Hero, from the sixth trap, and Tyrur Richie, from the fifth trap, will both challenge from the outside traps. Oran Jaguar, who placed third in all three of his heats so far, drew the first trap. Definate Opinion finished a strong second last week behind Big Mike, but will be glad to have an opportunity to race without the derby favourite.
The draws are as follows:
Heat 1: 1 Colorful Champ, 2 Whatsup Jack, 3 Tyrur Enda, 4 Ballymac Under, 5 Monlesa Alsation, 6 Barefoot Bullet
Heat 2: 1 Blazers Black, 2 Freedom Seacrest, 3 Foyle Storm, 4 Razldazl Lord, 5 Krug Ninety Five, 6 Tyrur Mcdgugan
Heat 3: 1 Kinda Ready, 2 Tyrur Big Mike, 3 Thurlesbeg Joker, 4 Killacolla Glory, 5 Mesedo Blue, 6 Westmead Grant
Heat 4: 1 Oran Jaguar, 2 Definate Opinion, 3 Tullymurry Act, 4 Hats My Boy, 5 Tyrur Richie, 6 Dromore Hero
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