COOLAVANNY SHADO strengthened his claims of going one better than last year when running away with the third second-round heat of Saturday’s Click Competitions 77th East Anglian Greyhound Derby at Yarmouth.

Patrick Janssens’ super-fast runner, a June 2020 son of Droopys Sydney and Yahoo Perlena, was caught late on by Hopes Paddington in the 2022 final but has now comfortably landsed his first and second round heats at the east coast venue – and his legion of supporters are set fair heading into this weekend’s semis.

Well away on Saturday on his way to a 5.19sec sectional, Coolavanny Shado produced one of the great runs at the track as he stopped the clock in 27.28sec (-10), his calculated time of 27.17sec comparing favourably with the 27.17sec track record for the 462m trip, held jointly by Fear Zafonic (set in 2010) and King Elvis (set in 2018).

In winning, Winter Derby winner Coolavanny Shado crossed the line seven and three-quarter lengths clear of Droopys Sport (Irene Barnard) and Deanridge Twowon (Allison Kelly-Pilgrim) – the trio all qualifying for Saturday’s semi-finals.

The other second-round heats all went to John Mullins-trained runners, with Swift Iconic narrowly leading home in Knockduff Eske (Craig Morris) in heat one.

The pair came together off the last bend, with the eventual winner – an October 2020 son of Droopys Roddick and Swift Biology – marked awkward but nevertheless securing a short-head win in 27.65sec (-10). Another local star Supa Nova (Paul Burr), Yarmouth’s reigning track champion, finished third here to make the semis.

Swift Iconic’s kennelmate Brown Eyed Boy then landed a fully deserved but 10-1 surprise in heat two as the April 2021 son of Pestana and Swift Joan, ending a losing run, made all the running to score by a length and a half from Alberts Legacy (Sandra Clayton) and Flickofacoin (Cornelius Condon) in 27.81sec (-10).

The fourth and final heat went to recent East Anglian Challenge runner-up (to Coolavanny Shado) Signet Goofy as the Mullins-trained British-bred, a January 2020 son of Magical Bale and Forest Natalee, soon led on his way to a three-length win over Bennys Chancer (Mark Newberry) and Watch The Limo (Seamus Cahill) in 27.66sec (-10).

Stadium director Simon Franklin is looking forward to the next week, with Saturday’s semi-finals followed by the track’s biggest night of the year on Wednesday, September 20, with the £15,000-to-the-winner Click Competitions 77th East Anglian Greyhound Derby Grand Final the centrepiece of a gala card.

Franklin said: “First of all I’d like to welcome and thank our new sponsors, Click Competitions, for their support of our most cherished race, the East Anglian Greyhound Derby. It has a fantastic history and has produced some great winners over the years – and there’s always a brilliant atmosphere come final night.

“As always, chief support to the big race will be Derby Purse and the Sprint, both sponsored by the MWD Partnership, so many thanks to Mike Davis, Michelle Connolly and Mark Wallis. Mark won last year’s East Anglian Greyhound Derby with Hopes Paddington and it’s always good to welcome him here at Yarmouth.

“However, as it stands, Patrick Janssens and John Mullins look the trainers to beat. Their dogs are running really well and we wish them well in the semi-finals, as we do all the qualifiers. They’re very close to make the final of one of the sport’s great races.”

Trap draw for Saturday’s semi-finals: https://yarmouthstadium.co.uk/wp-content/uploadedpdf/as.pdf