Five greyhounds to follow in 2026

Greyhounds to follow this year

It's that time of year again, the start of a new one and hope springs eternal with the entire calendar of competitions spread out in front of us. These five have all shown lots of promise in very limited starts

Ballymac Buddy - Ted Soppitt

2/2 so far, he put in a huge run on his race debut at Sheffield when stopping the clock at 28.66. There were only 11 times all of last year that were quicker. Two of those were from Chelms Bear, including the new track record, five of them came from Romeo Steel and another from Wicky Ned. The second fastest time of the year was a 28.31, so that shows just how slick a debut it was.

He followed that up with a 28.47 win at Newcastle on the supporting card of the Premier Greyhound Racing All England Cup. That was five lengths slower than the more experienced Strike It Skye on the same card and only 13 spots off Santas Amigo's win in the feature race of the night. 

There are going to be much tougher contests to come for him but he is only a May 24 whelp, so there should be plenty in the tank. He is going to be a leading player in the Arena Racing Company Northern Puppy Derby in February where he can lay his credentials on the line.  

Bockos Frankel - Kevin Boon

A greyhound with only one UK race so far in his career. I was sat at Suffolk Downs on Tuesday morning watching the action and this lad will have impressed all who saw him. He was a perfect 3/3 in Ireland before hitting these shores, and perhaps Suffolk Downs would not have been the most obvious starting point for him.

Things didn't go close to right, he missed the kick and then took a hefty bump at the opening bend but he was still on top quickly enough despite that and quite frankly gave them a running lesson. What quality he beat will be shown over the coming weeks but it was the manner in which he shrugged off the inconvenience that was impressive. 

He was introduced into the betting for the Derby at 33/1 afterwards which was a serious overreaction but his 23.68 reads well compared to the other winners on the day, as well as the track record standing at 23.32. Given how unexposed he is, he is very much in the could be anything category at present. 

Goldcash Warrior - Nathan Hunt

The winner of six straight, three in Ireland and a perfect 3/3 in the UK for Nathan Hunt. They have come at three different tracks, a 28.40 success at Monmore, 28.08 at Dunstall and 28.34 at Nottingham. All three were exceptional runs for one with limited experience and he can only get better in 2026.

It is his early pace that has set him apart so far. At Monmore he blitzed his way to the front, beating Maxine Locke's The Other Chief who came out a fortnight later to stop the clock at 28.60 at Central Park. There is every chance that proves to be a very strong scalp to take, early in both of their careers. 

The Locke runner is another who could easily have made this list given that sensational win time at Central Park, and is expected to make up into a Category One performer in 2026 as well. 

The Other Aari - Jennifer O'Donnell

Made a ridiculous debut at Shelbourne back in August, winning the opening round of an unraced sprint competition in 18.51. That is the third quickest time of the year, just four spots off Epic Ace who was the quickest sprinter of the year at the track and we all know what he is capable of.

He closed out his year with a runner-up effort to Lennies Tank at Cork, a track where he clocked 28.10 with a win earlier on in the autumn. That rival was a semi-finalist in the Bar One Racing Irish Sprint Cup but had to miss that assignment. The Other Aari has kept that sort of company through the first eight starts of his career, and has more than held his own.

Zenith Pasha - Garry Dempsey

2025 was a big year for the Zenith prefix and 2026 is shaping up to be even better, with an exciting team assembled on both sides of the Irish Sea. They certainly know what they are doing, so it was duly noted when they put this full-brother (from the next litter) to Droopys Kathleen up as one to follow this year.

He was quickly in plenty of notebooks with an impressive opening run of his career, stopping the clock at 28.42 around Shelbourne back in July. Although he did not manage to get his head in front in a subsequent three starts, his runner-up effort behind Christmas Oaks third Singalong Polly at the start of November looks very strong form. 

Nothing has been rushed with him and the team appear to have a serious prospect to go to war with in 2026, and a competition final or two at the top level would be no surprise at all give the promise he has already shown.