Bockos Diamond the one to beat in BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby after blistering track record

If you were lucky enough to be in Shelbourne Park last Saturday, then you were there to witness history as Bockos Diamond smashed the 550 yards track record in a blistering time of 28.94.

Trained by Graham Holland, this immensely talented son of Dorotas Wildcat – Seaglass Shadow had the crowd erupting on the stands of the Ringsend venue as he cruised to a three-length victory over Carrick Aldo as the red-hot 1/5 favourite.

The sponsors now make Bockos the 6/4 outright favourite to win the 2024 BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby with four cracking quarterfinals to enjoy this evening.

We also have round two of the €7,500 Michael Fortune Memorial Derby Plate (for greyhounds knocked out of the opening two rounds of the derby) and the semi-finals of the €10,000 Gourmet Island Puppy Oaks 525 with the exciting Droopys Kathleen looking to remain unbeaten for jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle.

Bockos is the one to beat in heat 4 for the Remember-Them syndicate. The Jennifer O’Donnell trained pair of Scooby Pacemaker and Seven Beach are either side of him so he will need to be sharp. Short Grip in trap three has been showing terrific early pace for Patrick John Cocoman but is finding the trip a bit of a stretch against these powerhouses.

Hawkfield Blue is another with fine early pace for John F McGee while Callaway Knegare continues to make life hard for himself but is running incredibly well to qualify each week for trainer Owen McKenna.

Trap one is a much better draw for the Juvenile Derby champion with the sponsors reporting support for him to overcome Bockos and get a run along the inside. He is now 4/1 from 11/2 to win this heat while the favourite is 4/11.

David Murray has Carrick Aldo in top form so it’s easy to see why he is the favourite to win heat 3 for owner Thomas Glynn. He is one of the most versatile types and is super consistent.

Before the first round of the derby, Aldo had never raced over the 550 yards but is staying the distance no problem. He produced a sectional of 3.32 last week so I think he can set the pace is this contest.

Boylesports Bob will be flying home from trap five for trainer Paul Hennessy while heat winners Extra Gain in trap one and Undulation in three are both big dangers.

Da Bold Falcon in trap two has serious pace from the back straight home so don’t rule him out either while Is She There has lovely early pace for Rosemary Price. What a race but it’s Carrick Aldo for me.

A Lucky Julie is a remarkable lady, and her trainer Jerry Melia is one of the sports greatest characters. He was ecstatic when she qualified last week in third spot after showing great pace in a blanket finish.

She is getting better at the traps, but this is a tough heat with Cheap Sandwiches the 4/6 favourite to win for trainer Holland. Known as Sambo at home, this son of Burgess Bucks – Hearthill Josie was a superb 29.18 winner last week so it’s hard to oppose him. Heat winners Untold Dollar and Ballymac Briar will be hard to beat as will Singalong Dolly and Mustang Fever. Sambo gets the vote.

I’ve been a massive fan of Bombay Pat. He ran great last week to pick up Short Grip in 29.30. This is a hard heat to try and break down. English Derby champ De Lahdedah has his favourite trap one, UK raider and wide seed March On Freddie is in trap four and Ballinabola Jim in trap five is going for eight wins in a row.

It has a bit of everything this heat with Superfast Gorden and Cheque For Cash thrown into the mix too. I went for all the trap sixes last week and they obliged so I think Bombay Pat can continue his winning streak, but the danger is De Lahdedah.

Shelbourne Park

Race 1 – Trap 1 Unanimous Roxy

Race 2 – Trap 6 Droopys Kathleen

Race 3 – Trap 6 Tribal Syd

Race 4 – Trap 6 Knockeen Dazzler

Race 5 – Trap 5 Carmac King

Race 6 – Trap 5 Faypoint Harvey

Race 7 – Trap 6 Bombay Pat

Race 8 – Trap 6 Cheap Sandwiches

Race 9 – Trap 6 Carrick Aldo

Race 10 – Trap 5 Bockos Diamond

Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts