Banksies Five to Follow- StarSports/TRC Greyhound Derby Saturday Night-19th May

Banksies Five to Follow- StarSports/TRC Greyhound Derby Saturday Night

Slightly different feel to my usual weekly column of trying to find five puppies that have ran in graded action in the last week or so that could be worth a follow in the next few weeks.

For the first few rounds, we will take a look at five Greyhounds who ran well in defeat but still managed to qualify for the next stage who may just be worth a bet next weekend.

PRINCE NASEEM: Ran from Trap 4 in Heat 10 at 7.28pm- Finished Second

You couldn’t help but be impressed with how well Maxine Locke’s Prince Naseem ran in defeat behind good winner Bombay Pat on Saturday night and you’d feel sure that connections will be hopeful of another big performance again in the third round.

When the traps opened, Prince Naseem broke well and was able to lead Bombay Pat into the first bend. Graham Holland’s charge then took up the lead and went on to build a race winning lead off the second bend, but Prince Naseem stuck to his task well in finishing second.

The winning distance of three and a quarter lengths never really grew much further than that all during the race, and his time in finishing second of 28.79 would have seen him winning all the other heats last night except for Bockos Diamond and Cheap Sandwiches in just his second race in the UK.

He does have a tricky draw next week with Droopys Aladdin on his outside likely to making a bee-line for the rails, but if able to negotiate him early, he could easily run another big race.

BAREFOOT ON FIRE: Ran from Trap 3 in Heat 11 at 7.46pm- Finished Third

After running an impressive race in defeat in the first round behind Ballinabola Joe last week, Paul Hennessy’s Barefoot On Fire was well fancied to go one place better in the second round, and if he was able to break in the same fashion, then he would have been hard to beat.

However, at the traps, he came out fifth and was then forced to spin off a little wide at the first bend when trap 2 Swift Underwater proved to be an obstacle. Having shown good pace down the back, Barefoot On Fire was making ground up into the third bend but ran up the backside of trap 1 No Better Feelin, losing a little momentum in doing so, but stayed on well to finish third behind the Brendan Matthews-trained winner Bubbly Charger with Esther Driver’s No Better Feelin in second.

A lot will revolve on how well Barefoot On Fire breaks next week. If he can repeat the break of his first round run, then he could go very close to winning and in a tough looking heat next week, he could represent a touch of value in with the likes of De Lahdedah, Ballinabola Joe and March On Freddie.

RACKETHALL BRUTE: Ran from Trap 3 in Heat 13 at 8.22pm- Finished Second

Saturday night saw the real Bockos Diamond turned up at Towcester. The one we had all seen dominating over in Ireland, the one we had all expected to see dominating in the same fashion in the Juvenile and the first round of the Derby, the one to justify his position at the head of the ante-post market. And understandably, all eyes would have been on him once he hit the front in the early stages. On the terraces, there were “This will be the clock” comments in running, and they weren’t too far away. But In the midst of all that, the one greyhound that ran well in defeat in behind was the Mark Wallis trained Rackethall Brute

Like a few other’s in this Derby, he isn’t blessed with the greatest of early pace, but he stays on well in the later stages. A bit like a Barntick Bear, a Romeo Empire, that sort of profile.

Having trapped in fourth, Rackethall Brute lost a little ground rounding the opening bends when ending up as the meat in the sandwich between trap 1 Romeo Command and trap 5 Nine Percent but emerged out of the second bend in fourth. With Bockos Diamond off out into the sunset doing his own thing, the race was on for qualification in behind. Seamus Cahill’s Kevins Rocket, who was mentioned in this column last week, turned in second, and again ran another good race in defeat, maintaining that position until the later stages, but Rackethall Brute had work on to qualify. 

As he made ground on Romeo Command into the third bend, he just had the door closed on him forcing him to check his stride, which in turn, had a knock on affect for Ballymac Lucia, as she too had to check her stride in behind. But Rackethall Brute stayed on well, and as the camera panned out as Bockos Diamond crossed the line, it was he who crossed the line in second, just over five lengths behind the winner from Kevins Rocket back in third.

Connections of Rackethall Brute will no doubt be delighted in the fact that they have avoided the big guns in the third round and it would be of no surprise to see him qualifying for the quarter-finals if gaining a clear enough passage in the early stages.

ROMEO EMPIRE: Ran from Trap 2 in Heat 14 at 8.39pm- Finished Second

Plenty of people will be on the Patrick Janssens trained Romeo Empire at 66/1 and above from the start of the Greyhound Derby due to the fact that he can keep on qualifying, and this sort of performance shows why.

As mentioned above, greyhounds like him, Barntick Bear, Rackethall Brute and other’s all have a similar style of running, often moderately away but stays on well in the later stages. He actually had a decent run into the first bend due to Diane Henry’s slow starting Savana Merapi on his inside but at the first bend, had to check his stride as the Craig Morris-trained Glory Lord cut across him, causing him to bump into the other Morris runner Back To Black, but he was able to recover and turned the second bend in third.

Janssens’s other runner in the race, Droopys Trade had already built up a decent looking lead at this point but once Romeo Empire had negotiated Glory Lord at the third bend, he set off after Droopys Trade. A five-length deficit turned into two and a quarter lengths when Droopys Trade crossed the line, with Romeo Empire taking the runner up position, with Glory Lord back in third.

He looks to have a decent enough draw in the third round, and even if he is unable to win, you would certainly think he has enough in order to qualify for the quarter-finals the following week

FAYPOINT HARVEY: Ran from Trap 1 in Heat 16 at 9.15pm- Finished Second

Plenty of eyes would have been on Graham Holland’s Cheap Sandwiches when the traps rose following his all the way success last week, but it was Holland’s other runner in the race Faypoint Harvey who led in the early stages and ultimately ran a cracking race in defeat to finish runner up behind his kennelmate.

Faypoint Harvey showed good early pace and led early but Cheap Sandwiches showed even better pace between the opening bends to take up the lead off the second, and at the third bend, was in front by a couple of lengths. At this point, Faypoint Harvey had a little coming together with Droopys Prefect and lost maybe a length in running, but he stayed on well again from that point and when Cheap Sandwiches crossed the line, Faypoint Harvey was only a length and a half behind having closed with every stride on the run for home.

He has a decent looking make up in the third round with Romeo Empire on his outside not known for his early pace and there’s no reason why he can’t qualify for the quarter-finals the following week if able to lead against the rails again