The English Greyhound Derby is set to take place in Towcester starting midway through May until the end of June as some of the quickest hounds from the UK and Ireland battle it out for the most prestigious race in UK Greyhound Racing and arguably only topped by the BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby.
The reigning Champion is Gaytime Nemo who was trained by Irish-based trainer Graham Holland, the last English-trained winner of the competition came in 2021 when Thorn Falcon trained by Patrick Janssens won the prize.
Dates English Greyhound Derby, Towcester, 500m
Commences: 1st Round – Thursday/Friday/Saturday 23rd/24th/25th May
2nd Round – Friday/Saturday 31st May/1st June
3rd Round – Saturday 8th June
Quarter-finals – Saturday 15th June
Semi-finals – Saturday 22nd June
Final – Saturday 29th June
English Greyhound Derby Odds
Dog | Odds | Chance of Winning |
|---|---|---|
King Memphis | 2/1 | 33.3% |
De Lahdedah | 4/1 | 20% |
BoyleSports Bob | 4/1 | 20% |
The Other Kobe | 5/1 | 16.7% |
Ballymac Slick | 12/1 | 7.7% |
Gaytime Nemo | 16/1 | 5.9% |
Churchfield Syd | 16/1 | 5.9% |
Droopys Pivotel | 25/1 | 3.8% |
English Greyhound Derby Favourites
King Memphis – 2/1
The E McNair-trained hound King Memphis is the red-hot 2/1 favourite for the English Greyhound Derby, these odds imply that the dog has an 33.3% chance of becoming the first English-trained winner of the competition since Thorn Falcon in 2021.
Bred in the Purple, King Memphis the son of star sire Droopys Sydney and former “Superstar Tracker” Queen Beyonce has already made quite the impression on the track since making its debut in Towcester last June the dog has gone on to win the 2023 G1 Hove Olympic winner and 2023 G1 English Puppy Derby. Arguably even more remarkable is the dog's consistency with 20 wins from 30 runs a win-rate of 66%.
King Memphis was the pre-competition favourite at 16/1 and so plenty was expected of him in the opening round of the Derby. The King duly delivered for all his adoring admirers breaking fast and making all to win a sensational Track Record run of 28.68.
In the Second Round he continued his fast running this time winning in an almost identical 28.78. That was followed by victories in the third and fourth round following a continued line of sensational running clocking 28.78 and 28.74.
King Memphis was a rampant winner in his Quarter-Final heat coming 5 and a 1/4 lengths ahead of Whyaye Man in 28.65 maintaining his unbeaten record in the competition in his quickest time yet.
His odds have been cut from 16/1 into 8/1 and again from 7/ 1nto 7/2 and now int0 2/1. He is a very worthy favourite and the dog to beat in the final two rounds.
De Lahdedah – 4/1
The Liam Dowling-trained De Lahdedah son of Lenson Bocko and Ballymac Sarahjo is the joint second favourite to win the English Greyhound Derby with odds of 4/1 suggesting a 20% chance of success.
De Lahdedah made his debut on the track in Tralee in February 2023 but has yet to land a major prize, arguably coming closest finishing 4th in the BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby last August. The dog has 12 wins, 1 runner-up finish, 5 third place finishes from 22 races on the track.
In the First Round, De Lahdedah overcame a slow start to get out of the first bend first and to make all in a brilliant 28.78 coming 7 and a 1/2 lengths ahead of Never Say No.
In the Second Round he continued he continued his consistent clocking with a 28.91 to make it two rounds wins from two races. However, in the Third Round he had his first defeat of the competition coming runner-up only being beaten by Crafty Shivoo by a HD.
The dog booked it's place into the semi-final following a third finish last week, after missing the break but overcoming trouble to finish strongly 12 and a 1/2 lengths back of BoyleSports Bob and 2 back of Coss Tokyo
De Lahdedah has all the gears required to land a major competition and so has been cut throughout the rounds from 14/1 to 4/1, but he will need to improve on his trapping.
BoyleSports Bob – 4/1
The other joint second favourite for the English Greyhound Derby is the Paul Hennessy trained BoyleSports Bob who despite not turning 3 until October caught the attention of punters following a brilliant first round victory in 28.87.
BoyleSports Bob made his track debut at Kilkenny coming 4th, it wasn't until the the dogs 4th race last June where it stopped the clock in a 28.04 winning effort that the dogs promise was really shown. The dog has struggled for consistency but did stop the clock for the 550 in Shelbourne in a swift 29.42 last February.
BoyleSports Bob really came alive as a contender with a sensational 28.87 opening round victory. In the second round the dog finished fast to come a short head back of Edwards in 29.10. In the third round the dog finished a disappointing 3rd but earned the crucial qualifying spot.
However, what has seen BoyleSports Bob shoot up the betting was his latest performance in the Quarter-Final stopping the clock in a sensational 28.68 to put himself among the leading market fancies.
Time will tell if the dog can find the consistency needed to win to land Paul Hennessy his first victory in the competition since Jayvee Jet in 2016.
The Other Kobe– 5/1
Fourth favourite for the English Greyhound Derby is The Other Kobe trained by Graham Holland. Kobe is no stranger to classic success either having previously won the 2023 BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby under Jennifer O'Donnell.
While the dog is certainly well into the twilight of his career having recently celebrated his 4th birthday last month he remains a tracker on the very top of his game wining 7of his last 7 races across two tracks and by extension jurisdictions (Shelbourne Park/Ireland and Towcester/UK.
The Other Kobe returned from his first race since his Irish Greyhound Derby victory in the first round where he broke fast to come 2 lengths clear of Cooligold in 28.97 That was followed by another success in the second round this time in 29.23.
In the third round he broke the 29 second barrier again this time winning in 28.99 following a sectional of 3.97 his quickest in the competition so far. He booked his place into the Quarters when he won in 28.77 his quickest of the competition so far.
In the Quarter-Final he qualified in second following a race where he led until the line but seemed to tire and eventually was passed by Ballymac Slick in 29.12 coming 1 and a 1/4 lengths back.
The dogs latest run has been the first signs of tiredness and has drifted in the betting for the first-time in the competition. However, you would be foolish to write off The Other Kobe just yet.
Ballymac Slick- 12/1
The fifth favourite for the English Derby is Ballymac Slick for Liam Dowling at odds of 12/1 suggesting a 7.7% chance of success.
The July 2022 Whelp was a lightly raced dog prior to the competition but despite having obvious ability had yet to claim his first race success. That came in the first round though where he showed brilliant track craft to finish strong and win in 29.14. The second round saw the dog overcome trouble again to finish 4 and 3/4 lengths behind Crafty Shivoo who won in 28.59.
The dog has been in winning form since winning the third round in a swift 28.97 (an identical time to the previous week) and most recently last week in 29.12 to qualify for the semi.
While not the quickest on the clocks with his strong running style and brilliant track craft he will always pose a threat if there is trouble to those in-front of him.
Gaytime Nemo– 16/1
The sixth favourite for the the English Greyhound Derby is the Graham Holland trained Gaytime Nemo at odds of 16/1.
Gaytime Nemo is the reigning English Derby Champion following his success at last years competition and remains very much in contention again. The July 2020 Whelp was victorious in a 29.14 run in the first round to kick off the defence of his title in solid fashion.
However, the dog really made his claim for success in the second round winning in a brilliant 28.76 and that feat was almost replicated in the third round clocking 28.83 but this time it was remarkably only good enough for third behind Crafty Shivoo and De Lahdedah.
Last week the dog earned all-important semi qualification coming third behind Churchfield Syd (6and a 1/2 lengths back) and Droopys Pivotel (3 and a 1/4 lengths behind) clocking 29.67 in a race where there was trouble.
Graham Holland is no stranger to success in the English Derby and Gaytime Nemo has already shown the gears to win this event before.
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