Trainer Chat- Heath heads to Towcester with talented duo

Jason Heath heads to the StarSports Derby at Towcester this year with just the two runners, Burrows Charm and Burrows Eclipse, and is hopeful of a strong showing

Best Chance: “Burrows Charm would be the better of my chances, He obviously reached the final of the Maiden Derby at Towcester last weekend. We had him for about four months before we did anything with him and I had him down as a strong running type, but from when he had his first trial, he showed blistering early pace which shocked us a bit. He does get the 500m well enough and his early pace could see him there at the finish if coming away as he can

Surprise Package: “Burrows Eclipse got to the final of the Hunt Cup at Oxford last week, he’s one that could potentially keep qualifying for a few rounds as he can run on in the later stages. He has sort of style of running that you want round Towcester. He’s done 29.07 round there, he runs the track well enough so we will put him in there and just take a chance on him really”

If you could train any other dog in the Derby, who would it be? “It would have to be Bockos Diamond. He’s an unbelievably fast dog, but it wasn’t a surprise that he got beat last week to be honest as he is still a bit of a work in progress as he’s sort of on the comeback trail.

He missed his break and showed loads of pace, and considering how long he hasn’t raced for and the calibre of dogs that he was taking on, he ran ever so well, but you can guarantee by the time the first round starts, he will be in much better order. He and Proper Heiress are on two different scales at the moment as one has had a non stop campaign through the winter and Bockos Diamond on the comeback trail. As good as Proper Heiress is, I still think that Bockos Diamond is a class act and when he is right, I think he is better than anything

Favourite Derby Memory or Highlight: “Most memorable for me was when Claude Gardiner won the Final with Allen Gift back in 2002. Claude being a Hove trainer made it special and the fact that he was the outsider of the field and hadn’t won a race of the competition until winning the final, but it was just extra special for me being that Claude won the Final

What would it mean to win the Derby: “It would mean everything to me, it’s why we are all in it and it’s what we get up every morning and do the job for. You dream of having Derby dogs and I’ve been lucky enough to reach a quarter-final and the buzz you get is second to none. It’s just something you keep striving for but obviously it’s just very hard now”