Headford Dane the one for money says Entain Trader George Smith
Saturday night at Monmore sees the semis of both the Ladbrokes Winter Derby and Golden Jacket. We spoke to Entain trader George Smith for his opinion on the action.
Monmore set for intriguing contests on Saturday
Ladbrokes make Droopys Flare the red-hot 4-7 favourite for the second semi-final of the Ladbrokes Golden Jacket at Monmore on Saturday.
Three semi-finals of the 684m annual and three semi-finals of the Ladbrokes Winter Derby take centre-stage at the Wolverhampton track for the classiest of night’s racing - and the second semi-final of the Golden Jacket is one of a host of intriguing contests on the night.
“It’s a great race and, while Droopys Flare has to be short, the race for the two qualifying positions will be fiercely contested,” said Entain’s greyhound odds-compiler George Smith, “especially with big-race winners Romeo Empire and Vhagar also in there.
“It’s definitely one of the races of the night. Getting first run on Droopys Flare will be important for both Vhagar and Romeo Empire you feel.
“The first semi sees Bluejig Outlaw favourite to follow up a decent run behind Mongys Wild in the heats. He’s been backed into 11-10, although we’ve also seen support for Burrows Charm, who recently broke the 664m track record at Central Park.
"The third semi sees the ever-impressive Mongys Wild look to book his place in another Category One final. He’s currently a 2-9 chance, while I’m sure the 11-2 about Deadly Disco will see some interest given he’s already beaten Mongys Wild on three occasions.
“Headford Dane looks the one to beat in first Winter Derby semi with money coming for him pre-event and after the first round. He’s currently at 7-2 outright and he looks tough to beat at Monmore. Texas Jack has a good draw on the outside to qualify for the final.
“The second semi looks to be a match race between Gary The Arb and Santas Amigo. As the fastest heat winner Gary The Arb would take the world of beating with a similar break this week.
“It’s a good draw for Droopys Aladdin in the third semi on the rails. He’ll be looking to make all and has been backed at 11-10 to win. Unanimous Leon will be fancied by many to book his place in a a seventh Cat One final, running on for second maybe. He has some record in big events.
“Overall it looks to be a great night’s racing and hopefully we’ll see the best finals possible for next week.”
Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes Golden Jacket - Semi-Finals
First semi: 1 Jet Stream Jane (5-1), 2 Bluejig Outlaw (11-10), 3 Champys Girl (14-1), 4 Burrows Charm (5-2), 5 Cartoonist (10-1), 6 Malcolm Bosh (6-1).
Second semi: 1 Romeo Empire (6-1), 2 Lilys Bullet (33-1), 3 Droopys Flare (4-7), 4 Vhagar (2-1), 5 Bombay Nutty (16-1), 6 Aero Academy (50-1).
Third semi: 1 Droopys Flotilla (14-1), 2 Mongys Wild (2-9), 3 Eagles Respect (10-1), 4 The Other Winx (12-1), 5 Yourself (33-1), 6 Deadly Disco (11-2).
Ladbrokes Golden Jacket - Outright
11-10 Mongys Wild, 11-4 Droopys Flare, 5 Vhagar, 10 Deadly Disco, 16 Romeo Empire, 22 Bluejig Outlaw, 25 Eagles Respect, 28 Burrows Charm, 33 The Other Winx, 40 Bombay Nutty, 50 bar.
Ladbrokes Winter Derby - Outright
7-2 Headford Dane, Santas Amigo, 4 Gary The Arb, 6 Droopys Aladdin, 12 Texas Jack, 14 Unanimous Leon, 18 Kranky Drake, Not So Steady, 20 bar.
