One All After Two Rounds!

As we head into round three it’s one all between punters and the bookmakers – the bookies got a few results their way on both Thursday and Saturday night.

It’s hard to call who will come out on top after next weekend looking at some of the draws.

Looking at the opening heat it looks wide open, all the early pace seems to be on the outside Jaytee Jet in five and Rural Hawaii in six. These two should have the upper hand on the run to the bend once they don’t bump off each other, they can’t afford to lose too much ground as there are some very strong finishers inside them. Ballyhooly Henry, Secreto and Vulturi all can fly from the second corner and will be battling for qualifying positions.

Rural Hawaii gets the nod here in this competitive heat, once he can get loose early.

I must hold my hands up and say I was of the opinion that trap six wouldn’t suit Fair Taxes, how wrong I was. He ran extremely well and can do the business again from the same trap this weekend. Paradise Maverik is drawn inside him in five and is a slow starter who wants the rails, the biggest danger to Taxes will be SaveTheDon. He was gambled on last week but didn’t seem to handle trap two.

He finds himself in the same box this weekend but I wouldn’t write him off here. This son of Droopys Scolari is all about early pace so if he has a level break he can give Fair Taxes something to think about. We will side with Francie Murrys runner Fair Taxes in trap six to score in heat two.

Tyrur Tommy ran a blinder in defeat last week behind Cable Bay, he was only caught up the home straight after Cable got a clean enough run in behind him. He has a nice draw here in two and can get on the rails on the run to the bend. Sidarian Vega was beat last week at 2/5 in a five dog race after missing the break, he normally runs his best races on the rails so might have a job getting across. Ballydoyle Honey suffered a shock defeat last week so will be looking to bounce back here, she is drawn in five which might suit her better. She didn’t look comfortable going to the bend inside big dogs so might get a better run on the outside. Offshore Bound is one of the strongest finishers in the Derby and will be hard to keep out of the first three.

I’m going to side with Tyrur Tommy to upset the jollys here in heat three.

Heat four is all about Ballymac Matt. He has two sub 29.50 runs in the first two rounds and is a very short priced favourite to make it three from three. He has his beloved trap one again this weekend and looks very hard to oppose. Farloe Rumble and Highview Apollo can secure the other two qualifying positions.

Heat five is interesting, Farloe Blitz would be odds on here if he was drawn either inside or middle but as he is in six he is one we want to take on. He has 20 wins from 29 starts so is a model of consistency but he has never ran from six. He has to break here if he is to win, he has the superior early foot. Cable Bay recaptured the form that saw him win the Con And Annie Kirby stake in Limerick back in April. There isn’t many in training who can hold off this fellow if he gets a run at them, he could be a big player here. Gaytime Hawk in one is well housed and returned to winning ways last time.

This heat is a hard one to call, I’m going to just side with Gaytime Hawk to cause an upset!

Heat six is ultra-competitive, Heathlawn Tiger shot up the market after last week’s win in 29.63. He goes from trap five this weekend and I’m not sure how he will handle it, he was stuck to the rail on the run up last week. Peregrine Falcon is in top form at the moment winning five of his last five starts, he did things the hard way last week and will appreciate the draw. Creamery Bale in four really likes HQ and ran his best race in defeat last time behind Fair Taxes. I’m going to side with the Falcon in this contest on the basis of the draw, hope he makes it six in a row!

The penultimate heat of the night can go the way of Blue Cafu. This Joe Hurly trained runner came in for a lot of support last week and goes down as an unlucky loser going down by the smallest of margins behind Ballybough Mike. If Mike was in this race you would have to fancy him! Shutthe Backdoor can lead the way here early with a fast start but has stamina doubts, while Lemon Miley rarely runs a bad race and loves trap one.

The last heat is all about early pace, Amazing Dude has yet to put a foot wrong in the classic he’s trade mark early speed is breaking dogs hearts down the back but his stamina is a doubt. The question is can he hand on? Ballybough Mike is another with plenty of early and knows how to battle, he’s the only wide seed in the race so is guaranteed a nice run on the outside. We have two ladies in this heat, Priceless Lassie pulled a few lengths out of Farloe Blitz last time after a solo run while Simiya caused a huge upset last week winning a seriously good heat in 29.51 at 33/1. Both these have to be considered. I’m going to stick my neck out and side with Priceless Lassie and hope she gets a nice run at these from the inside!

We are delighted with the turnover so far on the Derby heats, we took an awful wallop in the opening round but got a small bit back last week (badly wanted). In the ante post market Heathlawn Tiger came in for a nice bit of support before he won on Saturday night and also Blue Cafu. Ballymac Matt is still a major thorn in our side and from what we have seen of him so far he could prove costly. A few dogs that were big losers bit the dust last week but there are still a number of big losers in the book.

The specials are revised and open again, Ballydoyle Honey heads the last surviving bitch market at 11/10 while Tyrur Big Mike is favourite to sire the winner at 4/1. All eight heats are priced up since Monday morning and we are ready to do battle again.

You can see all heat, specials and ante-post market movers online www.Boylesport.com and remember to #BetOnBoyle