Deniro fastest as Ireland sweeps the six Derby final spots

Deniro one spot off the clock

A 28.43 trial ahead of the start of the Star Sports & Orchestrate Ltd English Greyhound Derby marked Ballymac Deniro down as potentially special. It has taken him a little while longer to properly figure out Towcester but he gave notice in his quarter-final win that he was finding his stride with a 3.78 split.

He took another half a length off that last night in a semi-final win despite not smashing the bars down, his straight-line pace once he hits top gear is frightening. Once in front and able to pick his line around the opening couple of turns, Liam Dowling's star opened up an unassailable lead, stopping the clock in 28.15. 

Lennies Eddie gave gallant chase down the back, eventually closing the gap to three and three-quarter lengths for Paul Hennessy, with Ballymac Duffle once more doing strong late work to take the final qualifying spot for Dowling. 

The second semi-final was won in similar fashion, with the orange jacket of the Pat Buckley-trained Hackney Corner going around in front. Comfortably his best sectional in the competition, his 3.74 saw him hit the bend with the lead for the first time and he made it count, clocking 28.34, again easily his best run at Towcester. 

It's a 50/50 shot of him getting orange in the semis, the draw that would probably suit him best given the pick of his times at both Shelbourne and Limerick have both come from trap five as well as at Towcester. Ballymac Ralf chased him home to give Dowling half of the field next week. 

He was last as the field turned into the back, losing another couple of lengths when checking off the back of Scooby The Lady at the three-quarters mark before rattling home. His dam stayed 750y strongly in Ireland and he shapes as if he could be an absolute monster over six bends. 

It was Lennies Tank who picked up the final qualifying spot for Hennessy and he will be guaranteed the striped jacket once more in the final next week.

So, we have all six finalists representing Ireland this year, three railers, two middles and a wide. The draw is at Towcester on Monday around lunchtime. Once we know the starting positions for the final, the excitement will really ramp up ahead of next Saturday night.

There was plenty of top action on the undercard with the semis of the PricedUp.bet Derby Plate run either side of the Derby itself. Singalong Polly was the quicker of the winners here, showing plenty of tenacity to pick up the front-running Romeo Ability to kick off an excellent 40-minute spell for Buckley.

Two rounds of the Derby saw Ballymac Dave drawn as a middle runner but the switch to rails has been a benefit for the Esther Driver-trained runner in this competition. He too grabbed the win late in the day, chasing down Craig Morris's Droopys Trade who had set sail for home from an early stage. 

The two shortest prices on the card were to be found in the two semis of the Greatbet Challenge Trophy over 712m. Droopys Flare produced the second fastest time ever over the trip to claim the opening semi in 42.17. Sean Parker's stayer has won 10 of her last 12 starts, both defeats coming at the paws of Mongys Wild in the finals of the St Leger and Golden Jacket.

A long-time rival of Droopys Flare is Vhagar and the pair will clash again in the final after Mark Wallis's bitch comfortably took out the second semi-final in 42.73. She was not as quick into stride as she can be and did produce a 42.21 last year but Flare has had the measure of her in their clashes to this point. 

The card opened with the semis of the Time Greyhound Nutrition Sprint where Lesleys Buddy held off Bockos Buster by a chin hair in the opening race of the night. Paul Young's August puppy has won six of his last eight sprints, picking up successes at three different tracks and is clearly a youngster on the up.

Shadow Storm laid down his marker to win this competition for the second straight year for Richard Rees in the other semi, clocking 15.35. The reigning Sprinter of the Year has won 12 of his 15 starts, finishing runner-up in the other three and will not relinquish his crown next week without it requiring an almighty performance to topple him. 

Kevin Hutton was responsible for the quickest semi winner in the Greyhound Trader competition in Venetian Mick. The winner of the BetGoodwin Maiden Series Stayers at Oxford last year, 13 of his last 14 races prior to the opening round of this competition had come over six bends. Once he popped out in front, there was never any way back for his rivals.

David Lewis took the other contest with Alright Precious. She had won her heat at 11/1 last week and was only the fourth favourite for her semi but she was another who picked up the lead early on and was not for catching. Only a September 24 pup, there should still be plenty to come from her.

The other competition was the British Bred Truframe Champion Stakes where Zappa picked up the quicker of the wins for Carol Weatherall. This track suits him a lot better than Nottingham does, plying his trade plenty at Colwick Park in recent months. There have been some flashes of excellence from him in his career, with this up there with his best.

Nathan Hunt took the other semi with Anglesey Milo in what was a messy heat. A semi-finalist in the Ladbrokes Puppy Derby at Monmore in March, he had clocked an impressive 28.25 on his final run at that track ahead of coming to Towcester for this.

Three for Lee at Central Park

Brunch Pal was an impressive winner for Dave Lee on Central Park's card, stopping the clock in 28.58. Only Scooby The Lady has broken 28.50 at the track in 2026 to put the effort into perspective, an eighth win over the 491m trip on just his 10th visit. One of those defeats was a short head behind Kent Plate finalist Cinderella Tell and the other when behind Romeo Tomcat.

The other sub 29-second winner on the card also belonged to Lee in the form of Bushpark Cathal. He is another who has taken a real liking to the Kent venue, winning for the third time in four starts there, with this his quickest win of the three.

Six bends saw the other Lee winner as Early Storm came home a comfortable five-length winner. She had found all sorts of trouble the only time that she had tried six bends in the past for Lee, at Romford over 575m. This should have done her confidence the power of good, backing up her 750y win in Ireland. 

Just five spots quicker over the 664m distance was Debbie Hurlock's Drombeg Dusty.  She had got off the mark last week at the tenth time of asking when stepping up to this trip for the first time and is clearly well-suited to a proper test of stamina. Given she found a few minor trouble spots, her 40.53 can be marked up a couple of lengths to boot.

Harlequin Lizzie picked up a four-bend contest for Barry O'Sullivan. She was bringing up a hat-trick of wins, successful in five of her seven starts so far in her career. Early pace is winning her the day, producing some very slick splits in her victories.

David Mullins got on the board with Zenith Impact who made all of the running in her 491m contest. She has won three of her last four starts at the track, and is starting to become a Saturday night staple here.

The other open on the night went to Alfie Herbert's Arabella. In contrast to most of the other winners on the night, she had to do things the hard way from off the pace. She got up late on to deny Lee another victory on the evening. 

Sprinters impress again at Star Pelaw

A 14.46 victory for Sunnyside Jayden was the 21st time this year that 14.50 has been broken at Star Pelaw. It happened just 33 times in total during 2025, and although Jayden was not able to go as quick as he did seven nights back for Ted Soppitt, he still produced the performance of the night.

There was a 14.50 dead heat on the card between Chloe Hardy's Bramble Idris and Ken Kennedy's Bitzer Maloney. The latter had led up, joined late on by the former. The other open sprint on the card was a 14.57 success for Glenbowen Mabel for Matthew Watson.

Just one stayers contest on the card which went to Tom Heilbron and Droopys Cardi. She proved too strong for her kennelmate Ballymac Sargie who had picked up the lead in the early stages. 

Pick of the times over four bends was Moonveen Jemima for David Alcorn. She has a string of flying sectionals here to her credit, a 5.40 seeing her clear early. Travel Safe for Glenn Foot also produced a smart run to close out the evening, getting far enough clear early on to hold on.

Popper Joe kicked off the opens with victory for Henry Young, the veteran picking up his fourth open win in his last nine starts. Ross Miller's The Other Cruz produced the surprise of the opens at 8/1, landing a horribly messy contest by a short head. A hurdle on the card went to Kates Goldie with Craig Marston supplying all four runners. 

Doncaster treble for Draper

Rose Draper has been in exceptional form at Doncaster in 2026. A treble last night made it 24 winners from just 51 runners in opens at the track, a ridiculous strike rate of 47%!

Cooladerrydancer produced the second quickest time of the year over 661m, showing the best early gears to grab a lead and see off her old rival Jacktavern Beaut to take a 2-1 lead in their recent meetings.

A 483m contest went to Clongeel Goody who made all of the running. She has won three of her five starts at the track, with this her debut over the longer four-bend trip. Tee Emcee Foxy took a sprint race to round out the treble.

There was an impressive 450m time from Kelli Windebank's Gruszka, albeit only in a three runner race. He had looked a decent type when winning on his UK debut at Nottingham and backed up that impression on the clock.

Carrick Cantona for John Spolander and Gallant Star for Philip Short were other 450m winners who dipped under 28 seconds, with Christopher Gilbert taking the other contest over that distance with Drombeg Abby. 

The quickest of the sprint winners on the night was Drumdoit Eva who went a spot faster than Tee Emcee Foxy. A D1 winner at Sheffield last month for Joy Andrews, she landed her first open race success. Paul Prior was also successful in a sprint with Keady Town who stays this 275m trip well. 

On The Wall picked up the other open on the card for Jimmy Gaskin, another contest that ended up with just three runners going to traps.