The Williamhill.com English Greyhound Derby quarter-final outcome
The Williamhill.com English Greyhound Derby is regarded by many as the most prestigious competition of the year.
This year has been by far the most dramatic; bringing shocking exits, but on the positive side of things also bringing record-breaking performances. Last night the final 24 Derby aspirants battled in the quarter-finals of the competition across Wimbledon’s 480m - so which greyhounds prevailed?
Mesedo Blue (6-4) was always going to be a favourite in the first quarter-final. Having not been beaten throughout the competition, the Seamus Graham-trained charge was given an unsuited trap-five draw which worked against him on the night as he took an early bump to the first bend and finished last.
Westmead Scolari (6-1) this year’s Bettor.com Scottish Derby finalist offered the best value for money, the suited wide runner was drawn with trap six and took advantage of the position as he stayed wide to avoid early crowding through the middle and soon led to cross the mark first in 28.49secs.
Scolari has been gifted with trap six again for the semi-finals and will be joined by the other qualifiers of the first quarter, Glenard Sunrise (3-1) who took second in 28.51secs and Irish-trained Oran Classic (7-1) who took third, clocking 28.64secs.
The second quarter saw Romeo Reason (5-2) clock 28.50secs to maintain his winning ways by a short-head as Head Iton Ellis (5-1) missed out on first by 0.01sec. Slick Robert (6-1) gave the Irish their second semi-finalist as he bagged third place to knock-out Paul Hennessy’s Barefoot Bullet (11-8 favourite) by three-quarters of a length.
Toomaline Jack (1-2 favourite), the track-record holder at Wimbledon, also ensured he remained on top of the ante-post market as he went on to produce the fastest time of the night, clocking 28.37secs.
Krug Ninety Five (7-1) followed in the third quarter behind Jack to take second, clocking 28.56sec, which also made it the fourth Irish-trained greyhound to make it through to the semi’s.
Mark Wallis’ Eye Onthe Tempo was eliminated in the opening quarter, but the champion trainer was given hope in the form of Adageo who followed behind Krug Ninety Five and finished in third.
Kinda Ready was the underdog in last year’s Derby final at 25-1. You never know the outcome when it comes to greyhound racing, but if you believe Wallis can produce another miracle, then you can back Adageo at 50-1 in the ante-post market.
Charlie Lister’s Bandicoot Tipoki (15-8 favourite) stays unaffected in the markets after finishing second in the last quarter of last night’s meeting. Tipoki missed out on first by just under half a length to Lyreen Mover (4-1) who clocked 28.75sec.
Farloe Skywalker (5-2) provided trainer Matt Dartnall with his second semi-finalist as he took the last qualifying spot.
The semi-finals are scheduled to be televised live on Sky Sports this Saturday, and with the surprise eliminations of many favourites throughout the competition, it’s still tough to narrow down a winner. Toomaline Jack and Bandicoot Tipoki seem to be showing great consistency and would be the obvious choice for every punter, but the question is, how long will they remain consistent?
Westmead Scolari and Krug Ninety Five would have to be my value bet after considering the draw for this Saturday’s semi-finals.
The williamhill.com English Greyhound Derby Semi finals (May 22nd)
1st semi
1 Lyreen Mover, 2 Glenard Sunrise, 3 Oran Classic, 4 Krug Ninety Five (m), 5 Slick Robert (m), 6 Westmead Scolari (w)
2nd semi
1 Romeo Reason, 2 Bandicoot Tipoki, 3 Head Iton Ellis, 4 Adageo (w), 5 Farloe Skywalker (w), 6 Toomaline Jack (w)
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