Sarah Kinsella: BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby Draw Reaction

And just like that, we are days away from the start of the 2020 BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby with the live draw done and dusted.

The year has absolutely flown by and it feels like just a few weeks ago we watched Lenson Bocko cruise to victory to land the 2019 contest and suddenly, we are back in the Oaks Suite with the 2020 version kicking off. 144 names went into the drum on Monday afternoon at Shelbourne Park with 12 heats on Friday and 12 heats on Saturday to look forward to.

What a cracking weekend of action to get stuck into, there hasn’t been many changes in the outright prices but our ante post favourite Lenson Bocko has been eased to 10/1 from 8/1, while Newinn Taylor remains the 12/1 second favourite followed by Ballymac Cooper, Pestana and Newinn Session at 14/1.

These top five leaders in the betting are all exceptionally talented greyhounds and have all avoided each other in their opening round heats. Let’s take a look at some of the mouth-watering clashes in store on Friday night.

Heat 12
Deadly Missile. Most of you probably never heard of this greyhound before Saturday night but he is now one of the main contenders to claim the €115,000 prize for trainer Mark O’Donovan following his exceptional run for the 550 yards.

He clocked 29.13, that’s just three spots off the 29.10 track record set by Tyrur Van Gaal back in 2015.

What a run. He turns two years of age next month and is by the 2012 Derby winner Skywalker Puma out of a bitch called Coolavanny Ella. That was just his 8th career start and to clock 29.13 is simply stunning, so I’m really looking forward to his heat. He has a big future and has already seen his odds plummet into 16/1 from a massive 50/1 for the Derby.

In trap order we have the wonderful stayer Skywalker Logan in trap one, the 2019 Corn Cuchulainn 750 and Cesarewitch champion, not to mention a finalist in the English Greyhound Derby final. This greyhound has an impressive CV and should qualify for the next round. Beechview Elsie is in trap five for May Kearns and has a terrible draw along with BoyleSports Xtra out in six. But all eyes will be on trap two Deadly Missile.

1 Skywalker Logan, 2 Deadly Missile, 3 Glencorbry Duke, 4 Ballyhooley Cian, 5 Beechview Elsie, 6 Boylesports Xtra

Heat 5
Pestana doesn’t have a perfect draw in trap five in heat 5 so he will have to work extra hard to secure his spot in the second round, but his early pace should see him through. Lenson Blinder in trap three has been one of the country’s best for some time now and can easily set the pace. The terrific six bend maestro Redzer Ardfert in trap six, the 750 yards track record holder, can work his magic over this shorter trip but the dark dog for me is Razldazl Peaky in trap two with the blue jacket sure to help him get a nice run. A tough little heat but too hard to oppose Pestana with his electric early pace and you can back him at 14/1 for the Derby from 20/1.

1 Laughil Josh, 2 Razldazl Peaky, 3 Lenson Blinder, 4 Meenagh Maestro, 5 Pestana, 6 Redzer Ardfert

Heat 3

This heat looks all about the ante post 12/1 second favourite Newinn Taylor.

I can’t wait to see this greyhound back at HQ. He won the Produce Stakes in Clonmel and is coming up to the big smoke to try and continue his unbeaten record of 12 wins. What a sensational talent. Toolmaker Sydney in trap three will be the danger.

1 Ballymac Juliet, 2 Waikiki Keano, 3 Toolmaker Sydney, 4 Towster Paddy (m), 5 Drumdoit Casper (w), 6 Newinn Taylor (w)

Heat 4
Oh wow what a heat. The 2019 champion Lenson Bocko is now an inside seed and runs from trap three. He won’t have it easy with the pacey Oran Don in five and the talented youngster Deerjet Sydney in four.

This will be a good test for Bocko to see if he is up to the task of defending his title.

On his comeback run last month he clocked a blistering 29.56. It was a serious display as he had not raced since the Night of Stars in November where he won in tremendous style. He is the Derby favourite for a reason and he will have plenty of fans watching him this Friday.

1 Buttsys Bengal, 2 Deadly Dynamite, 3 Lenson Bocko, 4 Deerjet Sydney, 5 Oran Don (w), 6 Priceless Squire (w)

I’m looking forward to seeing some of you there on Friday and remember I will be grabbing plenty of you for quick interviews and we will be having a presentation for all the heat winners.

Stay safe and enjoy the action in the 2020 BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby. Outright betting is here.

Sarah x

*Prices correct at time of publication.