Greyhound News: Updates from the Oaks and Derby betting and more

Greyhounds News / Editor / 08 December 2008 / Leave a Comment

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Droopys Quinta, at [3.5], heads into Tuesday's semi-finals of the Oaks at Wimbledon as favourite for the bitches' Classic, despite defeat in Saturday's quarter-finals.

Trained by Seamus Cahill, who is bidding to close the gap on leader Mark Wallis at the head of the Trainer of the Year standings, Droopys Quinta saw fancied kennelmates Kilelton Rose and Droopys Lotto both beaten and eliminated before running second to local Ravello Drive in her heat.

Karen Sim, the trainer of Lochbo Meg, is based in Scotland but the long trip north on Saturday night/Sunday morning would have been an easier one after victory for her runner in her quarter-final, while Dangerous Lady and Meenala Amy were the other heat winners.

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Monmore's Christmas Festival starts next Monday with the heats of three competitions over 416m, 480m and 630m, the six-bend event worth £5,000 to the winner.
All the races are on SIS, with the finals on Friday, December 19.

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The richest race in Ireland and the UK next weekend is the €35,000 Mardoc Holdings Golden Jacket final at Galway.

Won last year by Caz Diamond - subsequent Irish Derby champion Shelbourne Aston was third - the feature of this year's renewal has been the remarkable form of the veteran Tyrur Lee.

PJ Fahy's four-and-a-half-year-old posted 31.16sec in winning his semi, quicker than Frances O'Donnell's Mardocs O Shea posted in the second semi.

Saturday's final also sees ex-UK runner Full Bloom line up from trap one.

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Ballymac Ruso can be backed at [26.0] for next year's Derby after his 'world record' in Monmore's Cotswold Scaffolding 480 final on Saturday.

Matt Dartnall's dog overcame a poor draw in six to run out an impressive winner and have connections of the Patsy Byrne-owner runner eyeing Classic glory in 2009.

In clocking 27.79sec, Ballymac Ruso dipped inside Blonde Dino's best figures for the four bends over a trip which is considered to be fastest standard (480m) four bends in the country, hence the 'world record' tag.

This year Ballymac Ruso reached the Irish Derby final.

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Council leaders still have the future of Walthamstow Stadium at the top of their agenda.

The track, dormant since August 16, has been the subject of interest from leisure developers, although no formal bid is understood to have been received by its owners London & Quadrant, a housing associaton.

Those behind the campaign to 'Save Our Stow' have not given up hope of greyhound racing ruturning to the famous London landmark and will be meeting with local councillors soon.
They have vowed to oppose any planning application for the site which does not include the return of greyhound racing.

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Last year's winner Barnfield Brooke failed by a short-head to catch all-the-way victor Swift Ninja in Sunday's Coventry St Leger final. Wimbledon St Leger second Midway Skipper was a staying-on third.

Scoring his trainer Michael Harris' biggest win as a trainer, Swift Ninja could next line up in a £5,000 two-run event at Monmore around the Wolverhampton venue's Xmas Festival.