Sallis “Hopes” Ompaloompa can give him a "Better Feelin”
Having just recovered from heart surgery, Esther Driver’s partner and former trainer Paul Sallis speaks to us about the kennels two representatives left in the StarSports/TRC Greyhound Derby Hopes Ompaloompa and No Better Feelin
Sallis “Hopes” Ompaloompa can give him a "Better Feelin”
Having just recovered from Heart surgery, Esther Driver’s partner and former trainer Paul Sallis speaks to us about the kennels two representatives left in the StarSports/TRC Greyhound Derby Hopes Ompaloompa and No Better Feelin
“I think their names must be stuck together when they go into that drum” joked Sallis”.
“When there’s 32 heats in round one and you’ve got two runners in the draw and they get drawn out together, that’s just unfortunate, but for it to happen again in the third round with another eight heats, I mean that’s just real bad luck”
He continued “When we looked at the first round and thought if all goes to plan then they should both qualify which they did and came first and second, but this one is a slightly different challenge”!
“At the end of the day, when you reach the third round and the guardings are dropped, you have to expect to get at least one of the big guns in your race, but to be honest, I’m more disappointed about them being in together again rather than the opposition itself”
“No Better Feelin has got his box in trap one but I’ve seen enough Derby’s over the years where you’ve got at least four good dogs drawn in the same heat and at least one has to go out and the draws can play a part in that as they can get in each other’s way".
“March On Freddie will now have Ballinabola Joe to think about, whereas in the first round, a lot of the fancied wide runners, the likes of Cheap Sandwiches etc had their boxes in six with trap five vacant, practically getting solos”.
“The thing with our two is that they are old pro’s and they do trap well. Maybe Hopes Ompaloompa could do with a little more early pace but he’s a determined sort and any mistakes from De Lahdedah at the traps, he will take his ground and he will cut across at the bend and it doesn’t matter who you are, if you find a lot of trouble at the first bend and are six or seven lengths behind, you’re going to be struggling to qualify”
“But De Lahdedah flew the lids in the first round, it was like he was handslipped through the traps when he came out running and was two clear in strides. He’s a fast dog on the bunny and proved that doing 28.50 and went 80 spots quicker than our winner, but we both had the achievement of reaching round two”
“Our dogs are in good form and they have performed really well to reach round three but it’s the luck of the draw isn’t it. They say you can reach the final of the F.A.Cup without playing a Premier League team and you need a bit of luck In the draw. We haven’t had it this year, but all I can say is that they are in good nick, and although they are 20/1 to win the race, they aren’t 20/1 to finish in the top three, so we will see what happens”
I asked Sallis if he was hopeful that one or if not both may be able to qualify for the quarter-finals.
“There are three scenarios really. Either they both get through, they both get knocked out, or one goes through and the other goes out, which is a shame really as I think if Hopes Ompaloompa had drawn any other heats on the rail, I’d be quietly confident as he’s a good little dog round Towcester. He’s got a big heart and if he does get to the front, he keeps pulling and pulling”
“They’ve both improved, No Better Feelin certainly improved on his first run. They’ve been lightly raced before this competition so they should improve with each round, but we will have a go and see what happens on Saturday”
