Greyhounds News / Editor / 29 July 2009 / Leave a Comment

A Derby double is up for grabs while another dog is chomping at the bit for a record successive wins. Read all about this and much more in the latest greyounds news...

Derby champion Kinda Ready is due to trial at Shelbourne Park tonight (Wednesday) ahead of his bid to complete an unprecedented double in the Irish Derby. Only Toms The Best in the late 1990s has managed the feat.

Mark Wallis's dog is among the entries for the 550 yards Classic, which closes on Friday and kicks off next Wednesday providing the number of entries is big enough for the three-night split first round to be staged, and early indications are that it will be. A bumper entry is expected for the 150,000 euros first prize.

Other UK entries include Wise Thought, winner of the Irish Champion Stakes consolation final at the weekend, and Cabra Boss, the English Derby consolation winner.

Latest betting has College Causeway favourite at [17.5].

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The race to break the modern-day record of hurdles race wins on the spin will continue at Sittingbourne on Thursday when Platinumlancelot bids to make it 10 successive victories.

Jason Foster's dog, who has the Irish Grand National as a target, is the track record holder for the 480m trip and will be a short-priced favourite to win before renewing rivalry with Bomber Bailey at Wimbledon on Tuesday week.

Rossa Ranger and El Tenor share the modern-day record of 11 wins unbroken, although a hurdler in the 1930s called Long Hop is understood to have racked up 16 wins on the spin.

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The public is being urged to support the Save Our Stow's latest bid to reopen the track.

Via the SOS website, greyhounds fans can download a form which can be sent to the local Waltham Forest Council, and it's that which SOS will hope will curry favour with the council.

"This is the perfect opportunity for SOS and supporters of greyhound racing at Walthamstow Stadium to show the weight of public opinion in favour of its return," said a campaign spokesman. "All Londoners and greyhound supporters should let their views be heard. Tell the council what you went for the land, be it for greyhounds, stock cars, leisure use and other local amenities."

Site suggestion forms can be down loaded from the Waltham Forest web site www.walthamforest.gov.uk/ldf and should be sent onto planning.policy@walthamforest.gov.uk.

Alternatively, interested parties can write to Site Specific Allocations DPD, Planning Policy, Environment and Regeneration, Sycamore House, Waltham Forest Town Hall Complex, Forest Road, Walthamstow E17 4JF. Or you can download a simple standard letter from www.saveourstow.co.uk

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Befair is to back the Great Greyhound Gathering at Nottingham racecourse on Saturday, September 19.

It's the third staging of the event, a retired greyhounds' 'roadshow', and the organisers have promised 'fun for all the family' once again. Nottingham racecourse sits alongside the track at the Colwick Park and last year attracted over 2,000 people through the gates for the RGT's flagship event.

Georgina Corbett, Betfair's corporate social responsibility manager, said: "We are very keen to support the Retired Greyhound Trust. For us, the Great Greyhound Gathering is the best way to champion the hard work of the Trust and its branches across the country. The prize-money which we provide [for the various show classes on the day and outright Retired Greyhound of the Year] will go to the branches from where the winning greyhounds are based. It is therefore directly benefitting retired greyhounds which is most important to us."

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Lenson Joker, beaten in a double attempt at the Sunderland festival last year, is to bid to defend another title next month when he lines up in the Champion Stakes at Romford.

Among the Greyhound of the Year's rivals could be Cesarewitch winner He Went Whoosh, who was forced to miss Sunderland with a small injury, but is set to return for the 575 metres feature.

The event almost crosses with the Gold Collar at Belle Vue and could see a number of the northern-based stars sent to Manchester as an alternative to the Essex venue.

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Open-racing in the UK reaches fever pitch this week, and complements the action across the water at Shelbourne Park which begins next week.

The Peterborough Derby kicks off tonight (Wednesday); the Puppy Derby heats take place at Wimbledon on Saturday, while the final of the Steel City Cup next Tuesday is Sky's next port of call.

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