Here Come The Girls As 48 Becomes 24

We were spoilt for choice in the 3rd round of the BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby on Saturday night at Shelbourne Park as 48 became 24 following some blistering performances.

Now that the madness of the opening rounds is over, suddenly we are down to the quarter finals and are left wondering how we are here already. The time has flown by, but we have been treated to top-class action to say the least.

Light A Candle For Ariel
Ballymac Ariel is the new joint favourite in the outright betting with her odds tumbling into 11/4 from 8/1, however there is concern for the superstar.

It was reported on Talking Dogs on Monday that Liam Dowling has confirmed his daughter of Ballymac Bolger has an issue. The full news is available on the link below, but it goes without saying we wish you the best Liam and the candles have been lit that she will be fit and well for her quarter final clash this weekend.

Ballymac Is Wild For Action
I say it every week, but seriously what more can you say about him? Ballymac Wild is the greyhound we all dream about having in our kennels at home. Talented, consistent, a big heart and a ferocious love for what he does. He won in 29.47 beating Galvarino and Droopys Good. He justified his short odds of 11/10 to win by no less than nine lengths. He is the best competition dog we have seen in some time and I hope he makes the final again. Flashbacks of Ballymac Vic now that I think of it!

Ballymac Wild has been cut into 12/1 from 16/1 while Droopys Good and Galvarino remain 33/1 and 150/1 respectively.

Blind Date Cilla? Men Will Be Queuing Up For Skywalker Cilla
I did tell you all. I bet you were listening to me going will she ever shut up?! Money has been coming for Cilla for weeks now.

33/1 from 100/1 prior to the Derby and now she is only 16/1 after her 29.45 win. She breezed by Ballymac Fairone handy enough coming to the line and I loved everything about her performance for trainer Mark O’Donovan. She is 7/1 to be top bitch in the competition with Ariel 4/5, Susie 5/2, Scooby 4/1 and Sally 10/1.

Jazz Toes grabbed third and is a 100/1 shot for the big €125,000 prize for Peter Cronin.

Deerjet Sydney A Clever Greyhound For Team Buckley
Emma Buckley’s pride and joy. We love Emma and we love Syd. He had to put in a bigger effort to win and cut the nose off Broadstrand Ryan at the third bend to take up the lead and win in 29.75.

When he broke, he wanted the rails and Scooby Princess wanted to come off the rails so it was a fantastic recovery from Syd. Rural Star ran a cracker for Graham Holland and Syd wasn’t pulling away from him. A special word for Scooby Princess though who flew home. Well done to Jennifer, Layla makes you proud every time she races.

Deerjet Sydney is 14/1 from 16/1 & Sccoby remains 16/1.

Ariel Showed Us Why She Is The Best Lady In The Country
It’s hard not to love Ballymac Ariel. I mentioned on Talking Derby last Monday with Ian Fortune and Tommy Lyons that if Ariel got a length or half a length near Explosive Boy she would beat him. I’m not always right, but I think this bitch is so talented that I was very confident she would beat him if she got a run at him.

I tipped Explosive Boy though didn’t I, so I wasn’t that confident after all! I honestly didn’t think she would record a 3.36 sectional, but there you go.

As mentioned above, we wish Liam and Ariel well.

Ariel is 11/4 joint fav from 8/1, with Explosive Boy 11/4 from 7/2. Priceless Jet was 3rd and is 20/1 from 25/1.

All About Ted. It Really Was.
Peter Cronin is never far away when it comes to the big competitions with his All About Ted running a cracker on Saturday. 29.35 was the winning time with the lovely Singalong Sally second and Gunboat Showman third.

Deadly Destroyer was desperate to come away from the rails and it cost him the race, but it was All About Ted who took advantage with a perfect draw wearing the stripes. I spoke to Willie Rigney afterwards and it’s great to see him with a classy greyhound so best of luck lads.

Singalong Sally is 33/1 from 40/1 while Gunboat Showman is the 150/1 rank outsider.

Delighted For Thomas Buggy & Carrigeen North
It was one of the trickiest heats of the night, but Carrigeen North prevailed in 29.63 for Thomas Buggy.

He loved the inside draw and made all to win by five lengths to Gortkelly Nestor and Brykar Oak another ¾ of a length back in third for Michael Carey.

Carrigeen was only 5/2 to win his heat so he must have been fancied with his outright chances into 33/1 from 40/1.

Jackslittlething Roared Home Again
It’s safe to say there wouldn’t have been a big gamble on Jackslittlething as he was a short 1/3 to win, but regardless the Pillar syndicate enjoyed every bit of the victory.

He was fast away and made all in 29.51. He remains 5/1 in the outright amazingly enough with Graham Holland having an awesome record in the Derby. No Green Dye is running terrific as he grabbed second place and Holland also got Monraud Thunder through. A great result all round.

No Green Dye is 50/1 from 66/1.

Susie Sapphire 5/2 To Be Top Bitch
What a little cracker she is for Owen McKenna. I suppose you could say she is the female equivalent of Pestana (I know, that’s taking it too far!). Susie was sublime from a tricky draw in the black jacket but won in 29.31 from the fast-finishing Swords Maestro and last standing Trial Stake winner Re Sure.

It’s 2/1 from 5/2 for a bitch to win the Derby and Susie is 5/2 to be the Top Bitch. I’ve said it from the start, if the long wait since 1999 is going to be broken, this is the year.
Re Sure remains 66/1, Susie is 8/1 from 14/1 and Swords Maestro is 25/1.

The heat betting for the BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby quarter-finals and the Michael Fortune Memorial Derby Plate is all online now.

See you all Saturday, it’s going to be another cracker, so keep those seatbelts fastened.

Sarah x

*Prices correct at time of publication