Dynamic Force quickest by one spot in the Derby quarter-finals

Ireland 3-1 GB in the Derby quarter-finals

The Irish domination continued at Towcester last night with three of the quarter-final contests taken back across the Irish Sea. It was Dynamic Force who would go quickest for Paul Hennessy, producing a slick 3.98 split on his way to a 28.66 success. He's been growing into the competition, with a smart mix of early pace and staying power. 

He will get his toughest test yet in the semis inside Cheap Sandwiches and Bockos Diamond. Bombay Pat chased him home for Graham Holland with Maxine Locke's Prince Naseem continuing to perform with huge credit grabbing the third qualifying spot. 

Just a single spot slower than Dynamic Force was Cheap Sandwiches for Holland. He has been showing remarkable consistency on his path to the semi-finals, all four of his runs have come within 10 spots of one another. His two best sectionals have come when he has been clad in orange as he will be again next week.

Tom Heilbron has a semi-finalist in Droopys Bookem. A relatively recent arrival at the kennel, he lacks nothing in heart and tenacity, squeezed out a couple of times but ended up beaten just a length and a quarter. Both he and the third Sole Mio (Peter Cronin) will have unfamiliar draws to work from next week, either side of De Lahdedah.

It was another step towards back-to-back finals for Liam Dowling's superstar, putting his head down at just the right time to grab Churchfield Syd on the line in quarter-final two. There are a few more months for De Lahdedah until he becomes a veteran but Syd has hit that milestone this morning. 

Graham spoke to Richard Rees during the week about his 2024 finalist who has now made another semi. There would be few more popular winners than the dashing brindle. There will be No Better Feelin for the Esther Driver kennel this morning than waking up with a Star Sports & TRC English Greyhound Derby semi-finalist. It was only last September that Driver took over officially from Paul Sallis.

The Derby channelled its inner Vanessa Williams and saved the best for last as the fourth quarter-final saw a short head and a short head separate the first three home. It was Slick Sentinel who just got the nod for Patrick Janssens ahead of his kennelmate Droopys Plunge, with Bockos Diamond making it 25% of the semi-finalists hailing from the Holland range.

Bockos Diamond is still the ante-post market leader. He has stripes in the semis, the starting slot that saw his 3.93/28.51 trial and race with his old rival Cheap Sandwiches just inside him. Just three races remain in the 2025 Derby and they are all going to be phenomenal. 

QF1 - 1st Cheap Sandwiches (t5) - 2nd Droopys Bookem (t1) - 2rd Sole Mio (t2) 

QF2 - 1st De Lahdedah (T3) - 2nd Churchfield Syd (t4) - 3rd No Better Feelin (T2)

QF3 - 1st Dynamic Force (t5) - 2nd Bombay Pat (t4) - 2rd Prince Naseem (t3)

QF4 - 1st Slick Sentinel (t6) - 2nd Droopys Plunge (t2) - 3rd Bockos Diamond (t5)