De Lahdedah Now Second Best in Irish Greyhound Derby Betting
The 2023 BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby has reached its quarter-final stage. Saturday’s third-round Derby action saw puppy sensation De Lahdedah record the fastest time of the year at Dublin’s Shelbourne Park Stadium. His 29.15 seconds clocking over the Derby’s 550 yards trip has catapulted the youngster up the Derby betting. He is now the competition’s second favourite.
Derby action is hotting up at Shelbourne Park. ©GRI
In what was only his ninth competitive outing, the Liam Dowling-trained puppy was not the quickest into his stride but showed exceptional pace heading into the first bend. Assuming the lead as the field swung into the backstretch, he quickly put the race to bed.
If reproducing the same level of form in the coming weeks, De Lahdedah will give Dowling – who won the event with Ballymac Matt in 2015 – an outstanding chance of gaining further glory in Ireland’s premier event.
Young De Lahdedah Could Teach the Kids
De Lahdedah will take his chance in the opening quarter-final this coming weekend, where he faces the more experienced Scaglietti. This greyhound could be a formidable opponent given his impressive eight wins from 12 Shelbourne Park starts. The stats include a three-from-three record in this year’s Boylesports Greyhound Derby.
Handled by Patrick Guilfoyle – who won the event with the brilliant Great News in 2017 and manages to mix training a small team of greyhounds with his job as a schoolteacher – Scaglietti is another with strong claims of going all the way in the €300,000 competition.
It is hard to envisage anything other than either De Lahdedah (6/1 in the outright Derby betting) or Scaglietti (8/1) winning Saturday’s race. There is a slight preference for the former, who is drawn in trap three and inside of his main rival, who goes from trap four. That advantage could prove decisive.
Favourite Has Stiff Third Semi-Final Assignment
Coolavanny Hoffa, a prolific winner at Shelbourne Park in 2022, tops the ante-post Derby betting at 7/2. He will need to step up on his third-round performance, where he suffered defeat at the hands of Bockos Crystal when sent off the 1/6 favourite. However, this was Coolavanny Hoffa’s third competitive outing of the year, meaning improvement can be expected. He now goes in the very competitive third quarter-final, where, among others, he faces Mr Chelm, who scorched home last weekend in an excellent 29.21 seconds. The Derby favourite must be at the top of his game if that rival produces a similar level of form.
Graham Holland, who has won the event a remarkable three times in the last seven years and tasted success in the previous two English Derby finals, has three representatives in the Derby quarter-finals. Two of them – Bockos Crystal and Clonbrien Treaty – meet in the second quarter-final, and the pair have the early speed needed to carry them to the forefront going into the opening bend.
🥇 Bockos Crystal is a lady in fine form upon her return from season break, she comes out on top in a very hot Heat 4 of the BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby third round on Saturday evening.
Garfiney Blaze and Clonbrien Treaty will join her in the next round! #BoyleSportsIGD pic.twitter.com/nPTDSyWn71
— 🆁🅸🆅🅴🆁🆂🅸🅳🅴 🅺🅴🅽🅽🅴🅻🆂 (@RiversideKenne) August 13, 2023
They come up against a strong opponent in the shape of the Pat Buckley-trained Bens Teddy. This greyhound encountered significant trouble in his third-round heat and, in the circumstances, did well to make it through to the next round. If enjoying a trouble-free passage around the first couple of bends, this strong-running greyhound will take some fending off during the run for home.
Bobsleigh Has the Pace to Skate Home
The fourth quarter-final features another Pat Buckley-trained runner, Bobsleigh Dream. This dog is difficult to oppose after her impressive winning performance on Saturday. Although one or two rivals may lead her in the early stages, she possesses tremendous all-round pace and will likely prove hard to beat with a clear run.
Avoiding the competitive third quarter-final, our three selections for a Saturday Round Robin are De Lahdedah (8.32 pm), Bens Teddy (8.50 pm) and Bobsleigh Dream (9.24 pm). The live Derby action can be watched on the best live-streaming betting sites and RPGTV. It can be found on Sky channel 427, and Freesat channel 250.
The best betting sites now have the €125,000 to-the-winner competition priced as follows: Coolavanny Hoffa 7/2, De Lahdedah 6/1, Scaglietti 8/1, Bobsleigh Dream 12/1, Bens Teddy 16/1, Clonbrien Treaty 16/1, Ballymac Marino 20/1, Bockos Crystal 20/1, Droopys Bro 20/1, Mr Chelm 20/1, Droopys Nice One 25/1, Raha Mofo 25/1, Trinity Junior 25/1, Well Met 25/1, The Other Kobe 28/1, Tommys Hewick 40/1, Clonroosk Sydney 50/1, Music Glideaway 50/1, Undulation 50/1, Threesixfive 66/1, Seven Beach 80/1, Garfiney Blaze 100/1, Dromana Dano 150/1, Millridg Levi 150/1.
