Phil Milner's Greyhound Derby Stats - Round Three
The timings are in from Phil Milner for the third round of the Star Sports & Orchestrate Ltd. English Greyhound Derby.
Picture from Towcester Racing Office on X
Greyhound Derby third bend timings - third round
The Derby hit the halfway mark over the weekend, still carrying the distinction of the track record being broken in every round so far. At 28.14, it is going to take an almighty run for that to happen again in the quarter-finals, but the Derby will continue to be a spectacular competition whatever happens.
Ace is just Epic coming home
The 12.51 run home time from Malcolm Bosh led all dogs in the Derby until Epic Ace smashed the track record on Saturday night. He has grown into the competition in spectacular style, taking a good chunk off his end time on each occasion. He has more experience than the other main contenders on come home time and that could be a big help in the long run.
Liam Dowling is responsible for three of the five quickest run home times from the third round, led by Ballymac Duffle. Having set the track record in rounds one and two, it ended up being his best run of the competition in round three having completely blown the start, having to pick his way though from the back.
Another who makes for interesting reading here is Getup The Boy. He is doing enough to keep qualifying, with plenty of consistency on the clock. This is the best run home time that he has produced, so it will be interesting to see if he can back it up.
Ralf is emerging as a huge contender
Ballymac Ralf is really starting to put it all together now, into third favourite at 7/1 with the sponsors Star Sports. Third on the run home table and second on the time to the third bend, he is improving a good chunk with each run at Towcester.
There are two bitches into the quarter-final stage and both Strike It Skye and Scooby The Lady are in the top five quickest to the third bend from Saturday night. The former has been the stronger of the pair coming home but the competition to be best of their sex is still very much on.
Credit too for the near-veteran Slick Sentinel. The 2025 semi-finalist has made it into the final 24 this time around at a track that he loves. His speed to the third bend continues to be a huge plus for him, only run down by the spectacular run of Ballymac Duffle at the weekend.
