Unpredictable Irish Greyhound Derby heads into semi-finals Saturday
The semi-finals for the Irish Greyhound Derby are set to go tomorrow at Shelbourne Park. Tyrur Big Mike is the only strong favourite remaining in a group that has seen many strong racers fail to qualify throughout the first four rounds.
Back in the third round, Makeshift was on the outside looking in after a close six-hound race. Makeshift finished in fourth place just over a length behind the winner, Tyrur Mcguigan, who is still alive in the semi-finals.
Another third round upset was Farley Blitz, who failed to beat 14-1 longshot Foyle Storm, and lost his spot in the next round to Blazers Black by ¾ lengths. Black was eliminated in last week’s quarter-finals, but Storm as been able to stick around.
A host of strong hounds were eliminated in the quarter-finals last week including Kinda Ready, a crowd favourite, who was looking to become just the second hound ever to win both an English Derby and an Irish Derby. Toms The Best pulled off the historic feat in the late 1990s.
Other significant quarter-final eliminations include: Tyrur Enda, Razldazl Lord, Westmead Grant, and Definate Opinion.
Tyrur Big Mike has looked strong in all his races so far, with his only loss occuring in the first round to Kinda Ready. Last week, Big Mike was able to win with little difficulty against a strong field including Thurlesbeg Joker, Mesedo Blue, and Ready. Joker and Blue both made it through and will race against Big Mike again on Saturday.
Along with Joker, Blue and Big Mike in the first semi-final will be Dromore Hero, Colorful Champ, and Tullymurry Act, with the top three dogs qualifying for the final. Coincidentally, these three are expected to be Joker, Blue and Big Mike, but with the number of upsets so far, expect at least one of those hounds to see themselves racing somewhere other than the Irish Derby final next week.
The second semi-final will feature a weaker field, but it still has potential to be an exciting race. Tyrur McGuigan has only lost one race so far in the derby and should find himself leading the pack, but he’ll be looking over his shoulder for Ballymac Under and Hats My Boy, who both looked strong last week. Krug Ninety Five hasn’t won since the first round, a race in which he tied Razldazl Lord, but he has been looking better and better as the derby has progressed, and will be another one to watch.
The other qualifiers running in the second semi-final are Foyle Storm and Barefoot Bullet.
While it’s still a good bet to say that Big Mike is going to win on Saturday (and probably take the final as well) this year’s Greyhound Derby has been anything but predictable. Punters might be wise to hedge their bets a bit, and put money on both Big Mike and a longshot to win. Here are the draws for tomorrow races:
Semi-final 1: 1 Tullymurry Act, 2 Colorful Champ, 3 Tyrur Big Mike, 4 Mesedo Blue, 5 Thurlesbeg Joker, 6 Dromore Hero.
Semi-final 2: 1 Foyle Storm, 2 Hats My Boy, 3 Krug Ninety Five, 4 Ballymac Under, 5 Tyrur McGuigan, 6 Barefoot Bullet
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