Saturday sees one of the most anticipated ever finals of the Star Sports & TRC English Greyhound Derby as the six remaining dogs head to post with a £175,000 first prize at stake.
Bockos Diamond will be a hot favourite for top honours and will bid to become just the second greyhound to complete the Irish and English Derby double.
That achievement was last completed in 1998 by the legendary Toms The Best at a time when a remix of Three Lions sat at the top of the charts; and with Graham Holland responsible for three greyhounds in this final, there’s a belief among the Irish that greyhound racing is coming home.
Holland’s triumvirate is completed by our antepost selection, Cheap Sandwiches (advised each-way at 14/1), and Bombay Pat.
Somewhat less heralded in the market six weeks ago was De Lahdedah and his odds appeared to bear slavish regard to the 'fact' that Derby winners tend to struggle when defending their crown.
That said, Liam Dowling’s 2024 hero is no ordinary dog. Defying what was considered an unhelpful draw last year, we arguably underestimated what a street fighter he can be. A firm second-favourite with the layers, he aims to the pantheon of double winners that consists of Mick the Miller, Patricias Hope, Rapid Ranger, and Westmead Hawk.
Peter Cronin will look to win his first Derby with Solo Mio, who is the youngest dog standing.
England’s only representative is the formerly Irish-trained Droopys Plunge. His handler Patrick Janssens won the Derby in 2021 with Thorn Falcon, and having drawn the red jacket, punters soon snaffled up the fancy prices that were on offer.
Let’s take a look at the finalists in our feature race…
21.15 Star Sports & TRC English Greyhound Derby Final (500m)
1 DROOPYS PLUNGE
- bk d Droopys Sydney – Droopys Sweet (Nov 22)
- Trainer: Patrick Janssens
- Owners: The-Three-Tall-Men-Syndicate
It’s just under a year since the ing of Droopys Sydney and having been responsible for Deerjet Sydney (2020) and Gaytime Nemo (2023), this could be his first posthumous English Derby winner.
Originally trained in Ireland by John Linehan, Droopys Plunge announced himself as a juvenile of quality when landing a valuable Unraced Stake at Cork by 10 lengths, though hopes in the Juvenile at Shelbourne Park were put paid to by a certain Cheap Sandwiches.
Second to Winter Derby winner Proper Heiress in a Towcester maiden for his Patrick Janssens, the public probably didn’t know what they had seen, but after he ed for track record holder Barntick Bear a couple of weeks later, this competition was soon in scope.
That win came from this draw and he acts at this esoteric circuit. While he’s only won his opening round heat in this series, the black has been seeing out the trip and did so when elimination looked on the cards in the third round.
Some may have suggested Droopys Plunge is a draw dependent sort, but the trainer is confident he is still improving so who are we to argue?
2 SOLE MIO
- be d Coolavanny Hoffa – Palermo (Jun 23)
- Trainer: Peter Cronin (Ire)
- Owner: Aidan Comerford (Snr)
Despite his Italian name, Sole Mio hails from the kennels of Peter Cronin in Co. Kilkenny.
Cronin’s record with his raiding parties has been remarkable for a kennel of his size, and the Comerford-owned Kildare was runner-up in the 2022 Derby final. His brood bitch, Palermo, also being the mother of this particular aspirant.
As signposts for Classics go, the Kirby Memorial has a long history of being a recognised Derby trial, and Sole Mio was to finish runner-up in that competition when still two months shy of his second birthday.
Available at the longest price of the sextet before the Derby, early pace proved his weapon of choice during victories in the first three rounds – and he was particularly impressive in the third when out-speeding Churchfield Syd to the first bend before holding off the persistent Dynamic Force.
The formbook tells us that he needs to reverse form with Cheap Sandwiches and De Lahdedah. That will be no easy task yet he cleared the latter last week so it’s game on if he can do so from this location.
3 DE LAHDEDAH
- bk d Lenson Bocko – Ballymac Sarahjo (Oct 21)
- Trainer: Liam Dowling (Ire)
- Owner: The Garsuns Syndicate
This time last year, the greyhound named after a small glass of whiskey probably bought a fair few jeroboams of champagne in the hostelries of West Limerick and North Kerry from where his connections hail.
Weak in the market and from a draw that supposedly didn’t suit, he defied the naysayers by using his cunning to get to the inner and kicked on from the second bend to be a comfortable victor.
Despite seeing out 2024 with wins in an Irish Derby consolation and a Winter Festival shootout against Cheap Sandwiches, a pair of rum runs in the Easter Cup may have contributed to the indifference in the antepost market ahead of this year’s tilt. Such negativity was to soon dissipate with a smash break in round one and the reaction of Liam Dowling to what he had witnessed.
This final is deeper than last year but De Lahdedah has been more impressive in qualification than was the case then. With four wins to his name in this series, it’s his intelligence that sets him apart and he showed last week that when the chips are down, he will continue to strive onward.
The presence of the two dog could be a hazard for him but were his other neighbour to his right to miss the kick, he has every chance to get in position to make his challenge.
4 BOMBAY PAT (w)
- bk d Pestana – Clear Mountain (Sep 22)
- Trainer: Graham Holland (Ire)
- Owners: Eugene Buckley and Pat Muldoon
When Bombay Pat commenced his career at Kilkenny just over a year ago, inauspicious was the word that probably described his performance. The grainy footage showing the traps opening but one figure standing nonplussed in the boxes as the rest head off in pursuit.
Thankfully such circumstances have not resurfaced though his trapping at Towcester has been somewhat languid and that level of generosity is always likely to be punished at this level.
An antepost buzzer, that confidence has been justified as the trap draws have continued to be kind to him throughout. The big guns largely avoided and the standard of opposition being less demanding than a number of tonight’s opponents.
Pat’s ers will point out that trap four was the box he occupied when landing the Maiden Derby at Shelbourne, but while there have been glimpses of his abilities in this competition, those clocks have not shone with the brilliance that they did a matter of weeks ago.
Astute Missile proved in 2017 that anything can happen on Finals night and his odds reflect what he’s shown so far.
5 CHEAP SANDWICHES (w)
- bk d Burgess Bucks – Heartful Josie (Sep 22)
- Trainer: Graham Holland (Ire)
- Owners: Bark Wahlberg Syndicate
Paul Nicholls was lucky enough to have Kauto Star and Denman at the same time in his yard and there’s certainly a canine parallel with Cheap Sandwiches more akin to the latter at the Riverside Kennels.
Cheap Sandwiches was reputedly named during an early hours conversation in Las Vegas and he was to appear on the radar of many when runner-up in the Lee Strand at Tralee.
A step up in trip at Shelbourne Park saw the boy become a man, and but for Bockos Diamond, he would have come into this competition as the Irish Derby winner. That rival now sits 4-0 to the good in their meetings and therein lies the rub.
Easy on the eye, he has taken well to Towcester and has been metronomic on the clock. A winner of three of his five Derby heats, his most impressive effort was in defeat against his old foe in the third round where he managed to force the margin to a short head.
Surprisingly weak in the market last week, he was ultimately well held on the rematch. That he’s traded this week at 5/1 makes little sense but it's imperative he leads up his neighbour in order to have any chance of cashing the big cheque.
6 BOCKOS DIAMOND (w)
- bk d Dorotas Wildcat – Seaglass Shadow (Sep 22)
- Trainer: Graham Holland (Ire)
- Owners: Them Syndicate
Graham Box and his 'Bocko' prefix are well known in the sport and when he saw Moanteen Wildcat winning an unraced Trial Stake at Kilkenny for Rachel Wheeler, he 'took a chance' about him – though subsequent history could have been very different as that deal went perilously close to collapse.
Switching to Graham Holland and with his new moniker, the handler knew early on that he had something special, and the son of 2018 winner Dorotas Wildcat posted a flawless series in the Irish Derby, where he ultimately was odds-on for the Final and cleared away from Cheap Sandwiches.
Defeat in the Juvenile on his first look around Towcester didn’t spook the antepost players but an unforeseen examination in the opening round from six-bend specialist, Killieford Goram, led many to question as to whether the jolly could cope with this circuit. In the main, those doubts have been answered in the affirmative.
Perhaps his third-round buckle with Cheap Sandwiches had left its mark as he scrambled through in the quarter-finals, but those trapping boots were on in the semi-finals and the dog reproduced the sort of fireworks he’d shown during a memorable second-round romp.
The quandary for his backers is to how he traps on Finals night. Were he to repeat a 3.95 sectional and turn alongside or in front of his neighbour, his searing pace between bends two and three will put rivals out of their comfort zone. Yet, as Holland saw in 2023 when Swords Rex uncharacteristically stumbled out of the boxes in the Final, nothing can ever be taken for granted.
Verdict: 6-5-3
It's testament to BOCKOS DIAMOND that he’s been able to take apart races around Towcester while not always convincing that this is his track. With big night experience and from a draw that suits, its not hard to see him as the most likely winner.
Cheap Sandwiches has often played second fiddle and must get out ahead of him in order to give himself a chance. De Lahdedah is another strong runner and cannot be dismissed lightly. Sole Mio remains very much the curates egg and could be anything.
- The Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby Final is live on Saturday on SIS and the majority of bookmaker websites
Posted at 1255 BST on 13/06/25
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