Trainer Chat- Heilbron heads to Towcester with team of eight

Trainer Chat- Heilbron heads to Towcester with team of eight

With the Derby just over two weeks away, trainers will soon be finalising their teams and their plan of attack with their runners beforehand, whether to go for trials, if so, how many, or do they head for trial stakes for some race experience?

One trainer who knows his squad is Tom Heilbron, who heads to Towcester with a team of eight runners. They are Untold Ruble, Brinkleys Louis, Clona Dash, Optic Pharoah, Hollyhill Pad, Deliveroo, Droopys Bookem and Deerjet Rocket.

Best Chance: “I think Droopys Bookem (below) was impressive on Sunday considering it was his first time round the track and he’s probably the type of dog that will take the round after round well, especially with the long run round to the pick up and the same with Hollyhill Pad. I think they are the sort of dog that will keep on qualifying, he finished third in a good race on Sunday and that’s what you keep needing to do in order to keep qualifying so I’d say those two would be standout chances.

"I mean if Untold Ruble (Trap 2 below) comes back to her real top form, she seems to be running a bit flat at the moment, but if she managed to find her form, then she could compete with anything around there, she’s done a 28.76 round Towcester so she would be up there at her best. But Bookem was very impressive on Sunday especially as it was his first look round, and don’t get me wrong, he’s going to come up against stiffer opposition than he faced on Sunday, but the clock was there, and you’d think he come on for the run".

Surprise Package: “Brinkleys Louis surprised me on Sunday in all honesty, he’s a fast dog but he’s got the mentality of a two-year-old! He’s like a coiled spring all the time, he’s a young dog and I think he will be better dog next year but he ran the track really well at the weekend for his first look round and he only got touched off late, but I think he could keep coming forward over the next few weeks, the stiff distance will be right up his street so he could be a bit of a surprise package in the coming weeks"

If you could train any other dog in the Derby, who would it be: “If I had to pick one it would still be Bockos Diamond, I just think he’s been there, he’s done it with the big crowds at Shelbourne Park and I’m not saying he wasn’t 100% in the big race at the weekend but he’s sure to keep coming forward in the next couple of weeks. He’s going to get his draws, he’s got bags of early, he’s just a machine".

"I’m not surprised that he got beat on Sunday as Proper Heiress is also a machine, but I just think that Graham Holland would have had one eye on the Derby as well as the Juvenile and wouldn’t want him peaking now with the Derby coming up. I think he’s taken his chance in the field as he’s good enough to do it but I’d say the dog will keep coming forward in the next couple of weeks and I think in his next 2-3 runs, you’ll see him going close to the clock"

Favourite Derby Memory or Highlight: “As a trainer, when Dubh Gasta won the sprint on Derby Final night back in 2023, that was terrific. From when I was a kid, it was when Droopys Scholes won the Derby. My dad’s a bookmaker so we always used to do the Epsom Derby and fly over to Wimbledon to do the double, and on the night Droopys Scholes won it, I managed to get up into the Owners and Trainers area by accident so was near the line when he won which was a good memory for me"

What would it mean to win the Derby: “It would be everything, it’s a dream ever since I first put a Greyhound into the trap for the first time. It’s the pinnacle, we’ve been in the Quarter Finals before and just to get get further than that would be brilliant, but to win it, it would be a life long dream”