TOWCESTER is counting down to one of the best night’s racing of the year with the third round of the 2026 Star Sports & Orchestrate Ltd. English Greyhound Derby on Saturday.

Friday and Saturday’s split second round saw first the track record equalled by Epic Ace and then broken as Ballymac Duffle improved his own 500m best for the trip by six spots. He heads Liam Dowling’s bid to regain the famous crown as part of a powerful Irish-trained challenge again for the title, although the home challenge remains strong, too. We have a fascinating Classic on our hands in the heart of the Northamptonshire countryside

The second round action kicked off on Friday with success for GBGB Greyhound of the Year Proper Heiress in the opening heat one.

Two-from-two in this year’s Derby having been laid off since running-up to Scooby The Lady in the Arc Kent Plate Final at Central Park in March in preparation for the Classic, Mark Wallis’s 2025 Juvenile Championship winner was foot-perfect in his defeat of impressive first-round winner Ballymac Deniro by one and three-quarter lengths.

Proper Heiress’s winning time was a fast and impressive enough 28.42sec (+10), but that time was eclipsed in the very next heat as Epic Ace equalled Ballymac Duffle’s track record in heat two.

The John Kennedy-trained Irish ace, the Tralee Kingdom Derby and Dundalk Irish Sprint Cup finalist, overcame a moderate start with a huge burst of early pace to soon dominate and win by eight and a half lengths in 28.37sec (+10), a time which equalled Ballymac Duffle’s new best for the one-lap trip in the first round a week before.

Other Friday night winners were Ballymac Ralf (28.47sec) and Ballymac Stud (28.68sec), the pair landing a double for Liam Dowling, Kevin Hutton’s strong-running Rebel Alaska (28.77sec), Mike Burton’s Laurels champion Droopys Aladdin (28.74sec), Peter Harnden’s fast-up Salacres Lock Up (28.62sec) and Paul Young’s Ladbrokes Puppy Derby champion Underground Gold (28.96sec).

Saturday night oozed quality again with star of the show once again the Liam Dowling-trained Ballymac Duffle as he set another track record in heat 12.

Impressive and record-breaking in the first round, the Tralee Juvenile Classic runner-up was even better in the second round with a slick exit paving the way for a seven and a quarter lengths win in 28.31sec, six spots inside his old mark and helping to maintain his position at the top of the betting market for the £125,000 first prize.

Pat Buckley notched a double courtesy of Hackney Corner (28.99sec) and Glengar Kane (28.59sec), while Graham Holland also plundered a brace of wins with both Faypoint Harvey (29.16sec) and Swords Style (28.96sec) obliging.

Other Saturday night heats went to Mark Wallis’s Strike It Skye (28.57sec), Kevin Hutton’s Kranky Drake (28.99sec) and Richard Rees’s Arc Kent Plate heroine Scooby The Lady (28.58sec).

Towcester racing manager Danny Rayment said he was looking forward to Saturday night and to overseeing a spectacular night’s racing featuring eight third round heats of the 2026 Star Sports & Orchestrate Ltd. English Greyhound Derby as well as the final of the Barking Mad Betting TV Trophy, the Category One marathon showpiece over 942m.

“I’m looking forward to seeing them all competing for a spot in the quarter finals on the same night.

“Ballymac Duffle, Proper Heiress and Epic Ace have grabbed all the headlines and rightfully so after some stellar performances, but I can see the likes of Texas Jack and Brunch Pal going a few more rounds.

“Brunch Pal represents my old Crayford trainer Dave Lee and, like Texas Jack, caught my eye in defeat in the second round after decent enough performances in the first round.

“The local contingent is going well also with Salacres Lockup for Peter Harnden and Swift Magnison for Nick Deas showing proper early speed, while newly appointed Towcester trainer Kevin Hutton got all three of his comfortably through with great runs. He certainly has a shot at a second Derby victory here at Towcester.

“Heat five obviously stands out as the race of the round and whoever is eliminated here can count themselves as extremely unfortunate as it looks as good as a final, albeit we were sorry to see Coloursaregreen withdrawn from this heat by Paul Hennessy, as we were with Patrick (Janssens) and the withdrawal of Romeo Empire.

“But we still have huge quality heading into the third round – and the Derby speaks for itself. However, having the (Barking Mad Betting) TV Trophy final also on the card really is the icing on the cake for what should be a brilliant night’s racing.

“Supporting competitions here at Towcester are also on the horizon over all distances and we’re building up to a real festival of racing – culminating with the final of the Star Sports & Orchestrate Ltd. English Greyhound Derby on Saturday, June 6.”