KING ELVIS has his sights firmly set on defending his title after another fluent and ultimately comfortable success in the semi-finals of The Hawk Henlow Derby on Sunday.

The Liz McNair-trained flyer was sent off an odds-on chance in the third semi-final of the Category One event and paced up well in typical style, although was pressed from the off by Jim Hayton’s Lowgate Rudy, who ran a cracking race in defeat.

Indeed, it really wasn’t until down the back straight when the reigning Greyhound of the Year forged decisively ahead and went on to score by three and a half lengths from Lowgate Rudy in 27.35sec (normal) for the 460m trip.

That time was matched by Barstool Trainer in the third semi-final as Carol Weatherall ensured her Rugby kennels will enjoy a busy week as the son of Rio Quattro made all to also win in 27.35sec from Drumcrow Darcy (Kevin Hutton), who stayed on well to qualify.

On Thursday Weatherall qualified Holdem Zidane for this week’s All England Cup Final at Newcastle, so has two major targets in the coming days with Barstool Trainer also lining up in a £10,000-to-the-winner decider at the Bedfordshire circuit.

Dropzone landed the spoils in the opening semi, delighting connections of Elaine Parker’s Scottish Derby runner-up who came again on the run for the line to beat Bubbly Turbo (Paul Young) by three-quarters of a length after trapping smartly. The winning time was 27.49sec.

Sean Parker, son of trainer Elaine, said: “He’s just a fantastic dog for the kennels and his owners and is a credit to Francis Murray for breeding such an animal. Henlow was a last-minute decision and we took a massive gamble in entering him without a trial.

“I’m generally well against that, but for him it’s a benefit because it kept him on his toes. He hasn’t had too much time to dwell on things at Henlow, whereas at Sheffield the size and shape of the track just gives him too much time it seems nowadays!

“He certainly wasn’t at his best coming into the event, and I don’t know why, but maybe switching tracks is what he needs now. Anyway, we’re happy enough with the draw. With so many middles it could have been worse – two would have been a complete nightmare!”

Incidentally, Parker has taken over the licence held by his father Mick at Doncaster. He said: “Dad’s not in great health just now, and the only option we had was to transfer his licence to me as the workload at Doncaster has been on a steady increase.

“They’re now racing four times a week, plus a trials session, all of which needs overseeing. But I’d like to give a special mention to all my staff who do a fantastic job, most of all to my assistant trainer Vicky Clarke, she plays a massive role in the day to day running of the kennels.”

Trap draw for Sunday’s final: 1 Bubbly Turbo, 2 Barstool Trainer (m), 3 Drumcrow Darcy (m), 4 King Elvis (m), T5 Dropzone (m), 6 Lowgate Rudy (m).