KNEGARE AND DIAMOND SITTING PRETTY IN DERBY MARKET

Ian Fortune

After a sensational Shelbourne Park debut on Saturday night, it came as no surprise to see Bockos Diamond promoted back to the head of the betting for the upcoming Irish Derby with sponsor’s Boylesports.

The Graham Holland trained son of Dorotas Wildcat has won his last seven starts and returned to the head of the betting alongside the Juvenile Derby hero Callaway Knegare.

There was a bit of a shake up of the market with a number of dogs pushed out, while a few were removed from the betting. Damien Lonergan of Boylesports reports that both Bockos Diamond and Callaway Knegare have been very popular since introduced to the market.

Said Lonergan of the pair, “At the moment the Callaway dog is our worst result. We put him in after his debut at Cork and has been nibbled at all prices from 50-1 down. It’s very similar with Bockos Diamond. He went onto the betting after his debut win at Kilkenny and there has been plenty of small bets at decent prices.

“We felt we had to cut him again after Saturday night and it’s now 7-1 the pair at the top. The only dog that’s really close to them is De Lahdedah. He has also been popular although the money for him has come in larger chunks. We laid a couple of big each way bets at 16-1 and 12’s and he is now 10-1. You also have to be impressed with how he is trialling.”

With the big three attracting support and backing it up on the track, it’s hardly surprising to see a gap back to the remainder. Da Bold Falcon has always been highly touted and came in for plenty of support before he even hit the track. He has flown in recent times, smashing the 600yd clock at Shelbourne Park and is next in at 20-1.

Said Lonergan of the John McGee trained powerhouse, “He has been haunting me for some time. He is fourth in at 20-1, purely down to liabilities, but you have to be impressed with his most recent races.”

Behind the top four in the betting are four talented runners on the 25-1 mark. These are Yorkie Ollie, Unanimous Panther, Seven Beach and three-time classic winner Clonbrien Treaty.

Boylesports Irish Greyhound Derby

Boylesports bet

7          Bockos Diamond

7          Callaway Knegare

10       De Lahdedah

20       Da Bold Falcon

25       Clonbrien Treaty

25       Seven Beach

25       Unanimous Panther

25       Yorkie Ollie

33       Ballymac Danica

33       Bombay Pat

33       Boylesports Bob

33       Carmac King

33       Clona Duke

33       Crafty Shivoo

33       Dashing Toro

33       Droopys Bookem

33       Droopys Mandolin

33       Highview Splash

33       House Martin

33       Knockeen Dazzler

33       March On Freddie

33       Neko Harbour

33       Tuono Charlie

33       Tribal Syd

40-1   bar