DEFENDING champion Deerjet Sydney and compatriot All About Ted were quickest in Saturday’s third round of the Star Sports/TRC Events & Leisure English Greyhound Derby third round at Towcester on Saturday.

The Irish-trained duo posted identical 29.29sec (normal) clocks for the 500m Classic trip on a night when Anglo-Irish honours were even with four winners apiece at the last-48 stage of the £175,000-to-the-winner Classic.

The Pat Buckley-trained Deerjet Sydney saved the best for last when, trapping fluently from the inside in heat eight, he dominated throughout in a red-hot affair, winning by four lengths from Pacemaker Ted (Tom Heilbron) and Bockos Belly (Patrick Janssens).

Last year’s champion at Nottingham, Deerjet Sydney is now unbeaten in his three starts at Towcester this year and continues to play a major part in the event – the June 2018 son of Droopys Sydney now just two races away from a shot at history.

The Peter Cronin-trained All About Ted had earlier matched Deerjet Sydney’s clock when breaking smartly and making all to win by two and a half lengths from Gaytime Milo (Graham Holland) and Cold As Ice (Jimmy Fenwick).

Knocknaboul Syd, this year’s Easter Cup winner at Shelbourne and an English Derby semi-finalist at Nottingham last year, initiated a double for Pat Buckley in heat five. He was quickly away from the midfield in heat five and won impressively from Stuart Tighe’s Minglers Popeye in 29.32sec.

Training honours on third round night were divided between Pat Buckley and Kevin Hutton with the Towcester handler also landing a double with Signet Ace (29.31sec) making all from Newinn Session (Graham Holland) in heat one, before kennelmate Forest Gold (29.35sec) held on from fast-finishing Unlock Unlock in heat three.

Hutton said: “I thought both ran really well. Both are fast dogs when their feet hit the sand – and they enjoyed being in trap three. They’ve both got red in the quarters and will need to do things right early on – but certainly both are capable of doing so.

“We’d have preferred two or three and Forest Gold, unlike anywhere else he’s ran at, is moving off which is a concern. Signet Ace did produce a 4.14sec sectional in a pre-Derby trial so hopefully he can reproduce that in a race.

“They’ve come out of their races well. They’re in great shape, and we couldn’t ask any more of them.

“We’re delighted for the owners of both – it’s a special feeling to be in a Derby quarter-final – and I know Mark Hart and Darren Loveys are enjoying Forest Gold’s progress. Likewise Mark Gilbert with Signet Ace.

“Signet Ace has always been top-notch and is handling Towcester better now than in the Blue Riband. When he turned in front of Newinn Session on Saturday I thought ‘here we go, let’s see how strong you stay now’ but he held him well to the line.”

Liam Dowling sent out the improving Ballymac Fairone (29.53sec) to edge Drumcrow Brent (Mark Wallis) in a great tussle for heat two, while another coming forward is Aussie Captain who made all from Beach Avenue (Paul Hennessy) in heat four in 29.50sec.

Lee Field’s Adeles Duke maintained his brilliant unbeaten record in the event – matching the feat of only Deerjet Sydney and Signet Ace – in heat seven when once again producing a superb front-running display to lead home Faughan Rebel (Richard Yeates) by a head in 29.46sec.

Towcester spokesman Nathan Corden said: “I thought it was an excellent third round. An even split between English and Irish-trained winners and still all to play for.

“However, you’ve got to say what Deerjet Sydney is doing is something special. He’s last year’s Derby winner and is unbeaten this year. I’m sure connections are not thinking too far ahead but there are all sorts of records to be broken on the horizon.

“But they know, as we all do, that it’s one race at a time. We’ve got four brilliant Star Sports and TRC Derby quarter-finals to look forward to here on Saturday, plus a really strong RPGTV Derby Plate in prospect to. It’s all building up nicely.”

 

Form and trap draw for Saturday’s quarter-finals of the Star Sports and TRC Events & Leisure English Greyhound Derby 2021: https://www.bagsracing.com/assets/26-june—towcester-adv.pdf

 

Star Sports and TRC Events & Leisure English Greyhound Derby 2021 dates:-

Quarter-finals: Saturday, June 26

Semi-finals: Saturday, July 03

Final: Saturday, July 10