Liberty Strikes Gold

Special Liberty, owned by Livi and Gary Noble, kept our amazing ante-post betting run going when landing the Final of the Peter Bussey Memorial Trophy at Crayford this morning. Once she lead round we were very confident of picking up again from Mr Victor Chandler who laid a very generous 5/1 prior to the first round. Congratulations to Livi and Gary who both put a lot in to the sport.

90 Up

The Prince (Lisa's Invader) is having his 90th race at Monmore tomorrow afternoon at 5.39pm. I'm sure he will be making every effort to get his 22nd win on his card. If he leads.....he wins.....Fingers crossed.

Ballymac Kewell Latest

Steve Murphy, Kewells owner kindly dropped me a update which is very interesting. He has now covered a few of Liam Dowlings best bitches and has just sired his first ngrc winner here , Eeza Red Devil, whilst it is a moderate start there are a couple of really nice pups coming through. A 14 month old pup has joined Pat Rosney whom is an aeroplane. Given Droopys Woods passing he has the pedigree and talent to become a direct replacement given these early pups take off.

Mark Wallis on Fire

I couldn't make the Puppy Derby Trial Stakes last night as I was kindly given a ticket on the half way line to watch Manchester Utd v Blackburn. You can't really turn down a ticket to watch the European Champions can you ? Kinda Ready looks to have firmly made himself the ante-post favourite after winning in 28.01!! What a run. Litter sister Kinda Free landed the Divsion 2 Stake when winning in 28.79. Other Trial Stakes winners were Kaboot Bluebird (Mel Baker) 28.72, Thurlesbeg Nonie (W Critchley), Lethal Ace (S Cahill) 28.50. From all those who ran tonight Kinda Ready is one that looks a cut above. This week will see a few more dogs have their finals trials before the competition kicks off. Is there one in there to give Ready a race ?

Droopys Woods

It was very sad to hear that Droopys Woods has passed away after a short illness. Bred by the Dunphys and owned by friend Paul Ephremsen he landed the Gymcrack Puppy Championship in 2000 at Hall Green. After retirement through a wrist injury he stood back with the Dunphys before heading to ZigZag Kennels. He was a great success at Stud and his off spring included Droopys Shearer and Ballymac Kewell. This picture was taken at Coventry when he returned from Ireland. He pulled by arms out and won't take his eyes off the track. RIP Old boy !

Socks Flies Again

Socks showed exceptional early pace in his trial on Tuesday going over 40 spots quicker than what we hoped for. He will now have a mixed trial next week and if all goes to plan we may send him to a UK based trainer. At the current stage we are unsure whether he will stay 525, if he does he could be extremely promising.

Puppy Derby Trial News

Ted Megaw has successfully purchased a super new puppy called Droopys Jervis. Jervis, a August 2007 pup bred Droopys Scolari x Classic Wings, has joined the Chris Allsopp kennel after clocking 28.42(+30) at trials this morning. Westmead Wings looks like a name to remember after he clocked 15.41 1st time, others that look Puppy Derby bound are Steel Diamond 28.64, Glenard Sunrise 28.37 and Rackethall Hero 28.81.

Monmore Puppy Derby 2009

As previous years I will try and post regular updates up to the Puppy Derby including the Trial Stakes and through out the competition. The Martin Burt trained Proud Reward missed tonight's Trial Stakes as he was reported not just himself. Reward looks to be one of home trained contenders competition having gone from A3 to win a Puppy Open at the home track. Kinda Ready trained by Mark Wallis set the tongues wagging on Friday as they recorded 28.24 winning by 3 1/2 lengths. Andy Johnson looks to have a nice dog called Droopys Jervis that did 28.63. After seeing many Open Races at the track I'm still convinced you must have a trial at the track before going for a race. Back in 2006 Droopys Electric came over after winning a competition at Shelbourne Park and ended up on the first boat back having being knocked out in the first round without having a trial. Droopys Electric presence in the field enabled us to get a good price about Ballymac Charly. There was three trial stakes tonight with Eden Dom taking Division 1 in 28.24. He is bang railer so could struggle if he gets a poor draw. Farloe Firefox ran a stinker in the second Trial Stake when a shocking start cost him all chance. Blonde Dee kicked clear off the second and won from a fast finishing Farloe Can Do in 28.41.This was a smart performance by the son of Hades Rocket as it was the pups first ever race. The final Trial Stake winner Bawna Elsa trained by Chris Allsopp. Elsa showed some rapid early pace to lead round and take advantage of Droopys Arshavin's lack of experience at the track to win in 28.41. Bawna Elsa is actually for sale on Chris Allsopps's website.

Sallies in Demand

I was very interested to read that the hares at the Clonmel National Meeting ate an amazing two and a half ton of Sallies each week! That is some amount. I was shown the art of Sallie cutting by Lixnaw's very own Mr Health & Safety Paddy Flaherty back in October.

Arc at Swindon

My old fiend Paul Ephremsen who I owned Droopys Clichy with in the heydays of Beechfield Racing has thankfully got back in the sport by owning Mountjoy Ruby. Ruby is currently contesting the Arc at Swindon which as reached the Semi Final stage tonight. The sport needs owners like Paul and should do all it can to hold on such owners. Good Luck Paul.

Bomber Collects

Bomber Bailey landed the Springbok crown on Tuesday night at Wimbledon for us at a whopping 14/1 !! A 14/1 winner goes down well on any day of the week. As soon as he hit the front there was no dangers and the dog was on his best behaviour. Flying Winner took the Marathon race for Big Harry Findlay. She is an amazing bitch and has now won 28 of her 39 races. I would like to try and see her run in the flesh this year.

Loving Home Required

Following a discussion with Martin on the phone this morning we have decided to retire Avenue Guide (Sam). A winner of 10 of his 65 races he has been lovely little dog to own. We will now try and find him a loving home to spend his retirement. Should you know anyone interested please email me at ndugganisrm@hotmail.com.

Bookies clean up at Clonmel

Kingsmill Dynamo, trained in the south of Wexford by Aidan Roche, raced to a decisive victory over Colina Damask in the final of the Boylesports Derby at Powerstown Park. The festival probably suffered it's worth weather for a long time. At times the slippers hut was not visiable!

Kingsmill Dynamo took on Galway giant-killer Colina Damask in the deciding buckle, but this proved an anti-climax when the Dynamo took control from the slips and led up by no less than five lengths.

Throughout the Boylesports Derby there were a succession of shocks. Three of the four-strong Matthews team made their exits at this stage and were joined on the sidelines by their kennelmate Wallace Green on Tuesday afternoon. Coolcastle Point took over as favourite after the third round, only to be withdrawn before the quarters.
He was replaced by King Saunders at the head of the market, but he in turn was upstaged by Colina Damask. Shocks were also a feature in the Hotel Minella Oaks and this classic ended with Fortuna, trained by Charlie Faul for Brigid Frank, upsetting the odds laid on Whimsical Lady when holding on by half a length from a short slip.

I selected five against the field in both competitions yet the furthest one went was the Quarter Final. I imagine there are some pretty rich bookies come the end of the week.

Dog Tales

I was recently asked if I could submit an article of interest for the Betfair Forum "Dog Tales". Any way I managed to find ten minutes and submitted it this week. Nice bit of publicity for the websites.Happy reading.

Gallop Report

Jameson had his first gallop since 2008 this morning. Paul reported his action seemed much easier on the eye and the rest has done him the world of good. He has a lovely big back on him and is currently 36.6 kg. All being well be will be back on the schooling track in two weeks and hopefully with us in six.

Springbok Fancies

Our antepost punting has started well this year with a juicy 20/1 place in the Birmingham Cup, we entered the fray of the Springbok on Saturday. Taking the 14/1 about Bomber Bailey and Platinumlancelot. The great news is that both won well and are now 1st and 2nd favourite. Platinumlancelot won by an amazing 11 lengths and also completed the fastest of the night 28.05.

Swimmingly Well at Clonmel

Ray dropped me a text from Clonmel to say coursing was on but the visability was shocking. The rain they have had there in recent week is of record levels. This picture of the greyhound stadium, which is normally packed every night, was taken off one of the forums. Of my selections the following are still standing.
Derby - Wallace Green, King Saunders, Droopys Galvin and Fullerton.
Oaks - Cleanaway Smurf, Candles Dripping, Feora Time

Puppy Video Latest

Dave, Slim Amarillo's co-owner kindly posted this video for us of the dogs at Drumscaw.

All Positive

Dave and I were grinning all day after hearing the news that Slim Amarillo had shown some super early pace again at the schooling track and improved another 4 lengths. Jamesons pad had also improved and he may get back into work this week however we are in no rush we would rather ensure the pad injury is 100%.

Clonmel Coursing Preview

The heavy ground at Powerstown, Clonmel will test all the greyhounds that head for the ultimate test tomorrow. Heavy rain in the region has supposed to have made the ground seriously testing and the trainers will have to call on all their skills to keep there charges fresh. Brendan Matthews is seeking his 8th Derby win and has four runners ready this year. Three litters have dominated the season as I have written about from the very season. Carrick Sam and Fiery Mary have five of their litters in either the Derby or Oaks, whilst Uptown Smurf has four Oaks qualifiers. The betting ring will be full of people willing back their opinions to the hilt so here is my five against the field for both Classics.

Boylesports Derby

Wallace Green - Strongest form in the field, landed the Corn Na Feile after trial stake.
King Saunders - My tip from the start of the season, I'm hoping his poor run against older dogs was just an off day.
Droopys Galvin - Serious pace but need to come away from slips better.
Catunda Donie - Well backed by connection who reached semi final last year.
Fullerton - Owned by Lixnaw pal Paudie "Whisky and Red" Lyons, off colour at Christmas, meets the other Lixnaw dog in round 1.

Hotel Minella Oaks

Newinn Droopy - My tip from early season, will love the hill.
Uptown Smurf - Has an all age win on her CV, should go a long way.
Candles Dripping - A must for the portfolio, won a tough all age bitch at Newcastle West confirming Trial Stake promise.
Cleanaway Smurf - Turned form around after changing kennel, still on the upgrade.
Feora Time - A selection at 100/1, Ray tried to buy this girl at Christmas. Clocked some serious times, may just shake a few up.