Greyhounds New: No Easter holiday for the dogs!

Greyhounds News / Editor / 06 April 2009 / Leave a Comment

Semi-final night at Shawfield, open race bonanza on Sky and the Grand National at Wimbledon mean this week has all the makings of a classic...

Tuesday sees the Scottish Derby semi-finals at Shawfield, with the first three in each of the semis (live on Sky Sports at 8.25pm and 9pm during the Grand National programme) making it through to Saturday's £25,000 final.

Joint-favourites heading into the semis are those ultra-talented litter brothers Ninja Jamie and Farloe Reason at [4.6].

The final is the first leg of greyhound racing's triple crown with a £1m bonus awaiting connections of any greyhound who wins the Scottish, English and Irish Derbys in the same year.

The Scottish Derby final will be the centrepiece of a seven-race card live on Sky Sports between 8pm and 10pm.

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Tuesday is very much an open-race bonanza with Sky Sports 1 screening no less than 10 races in a two-and-a-half hour programme from 7.30pm to 10pm.

Eight races from Wimbledon including the Grand National final at 9.45pm are spiced by the two semi-finals of the Scottish Derby.

The Grand National, won last year by Kildare Lark, remains a wide-open affair with fast semi-final winner Platinumlancelot (3.4) just shading the market from Hotdog Jack (3.45).

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Fear Zafonic and Boherna Best, the first and second in the Juvenile Championship at Wimbledon last month, have returned to the track in the past week for trials.

The pair are set to be among the entries in the upcoming Blue Riband at Hall Green (heats Friday, semis Tuesday April 14, live-on-Sky final April 21).

Fear Zafonic currently trades at favourite for the English Derby at Wimbledon, with Boherna Best also in the front rank.

The Wimbledon Derby starts with a split first round on Thursday, April 30.

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There is no Easter Holidays for greyhound racing, with Good Friday potentially one of the busiest of the year in terms of likely attendance at tracks and open races scheduled.

The Blue Riband kicks off at Hall Green, while the Golden Sprint at Romford. Pelaw Grange also stage opens, while a full Bags service will be beamed into the country's betting shops on the day.

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David Pruhs is unlikely to take in Golden Sprint with his sprinter Miss Lee. The bitch has been in cracking form around two bends, winning for fun and setting track records into the bargain. However, upped in trip for a 400m race at Romford on Friday, she faded badly and only just managed to hold on for a dead-heat after leading.

Ironically, her latest success came a day before the return to winning ways of Boherbradda Mac.

Last year's leading sprinter equalled the track record in winning at Sheffield on Saturday after returning from an Irish campaign.

A clash between the country's two leading sprinters Miss Lee and Boherbradda Mac is now being eagerly anticipated by open-race fans.

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Efforts to reopen Walthamstow are continuing.

The story took a new twist recently when the new owners of the site, a Government-funded housing association, were understood to be ready to take a cut-price bid for the land. It follows the economic downturn and the lack of planning permission.