The Derby - View From The Bluesq Trading Room

Thursday 21st May

We now have a full range of markets and betting opportunities for the magnificent Sky card on Saturday night.

The Semi-Final draw has given us two compelling and intriguing races, with the prize of places in the Derby Final at stake.

In addition to our heat prices, we now have prices to qualify from each semi.

There are also a range of special markets up on the site under 'Greyhound Racing Specials' - including special doubles and special multi markets.

The supporting card at Wimbledon (live on Sky Sports) is terrific, featuring the likes of Ninja Jamie and Bohern Best in the Blue Square Derby Plate plus the top hurdlers Platimumlancealot and The Other Outlaw in the opening heats of the Blue Square Champion Hurdle. Prices available now on all the live Sky races.

And then there were 12 .....

After over 140 started out on the Derby journey at the start of the month, just a dozen dogs remain in the competition. Saturday will see the last 12 dogs run for the third time in eight days for the right to compete in the £100,000 finale on 30th May.

The betting action last night was fast and furious as opinions were divided over the chances of all the runners in each quarter. All too often on 'Sky' nights, we end up with books skewed by the Racing Post tips, but Derby nights are different.

The opening Quarter saw us on the back foot as Wise Thought never looked in trouble after a decent start and was always holding the persistent Jogadusc Ace up the home straight.

The draw last Saturday night saw Martin White's star jump to the top of the ante-post market and this performance ensured he will still head the outright betting at the weekend.

The second heat was a tough one on paper, with solid support seen ofr the litter siblings Cabra Fly and Cabra Boss, whilst Kinda Ready was a strong late order (went off 2/1 favourite).

In the race itself, the recently purchased - and renamed - Bubbly Maestro put up a career best effort to secure his semi-final position, posting a classy 28.53 on a track given as 'normal'.

The tension in the stadium rose several notches in the build-up to the race of the night, as the Lister trio faced the likes of Irish Derby winner Shelbourne Aston, Shawfield track record holder, Greenwell River and the highly progressive Ballymac Ruso.

The break was always going to play a massive part in the outcome and after Ballymac Ruso posted a sensational 4.77 split, the race was over. Ruso had been well backed all day (4/1 from 6/1) and was our worst result of the night.

It seemed hard to believe that punters could have had such strong views in a race that looked so tricky, but the followers of the Plough Lane punting legend, the "Postman" were well rewarded.

After Terry Dartnell had led up Ballymac Ruso and shared the podium with the popular Patsy Byrne, it was the turn of his son, Matt, to the honours for the same owner in the last quarter-final. Glenard Sunrise did the business with a clinically efficient display of all round pace.

Punters had got well and truly stuck into the much touted Windy Millar (1/2 from 8/11), but Pat Rosney's star had his back legs taken by Stop The Show going into the second bend, bringing the favourite nearly to a standstill. Granted an injury free run, Windy Millar looks the sort to be strong challenger for the 2010 renewal.

Despite losing the likes of Bandicoot Tipoki, Shelbourne Aston and Windy Millar, the Derby still boasts a fantastic array of canine talent, and genuinely looks too hard to call, even though there are only 12 dogs standing.

With the opening heats of the Plate and Champion Hurdle supporting the Derby semis, Saturday will be another hectic and dramatic trading experience.

Monday 18th May

We now have a full range of markets and betting opportunities for the magnificent Sky card tomorrow night.

The Quarter-Final draw provided one incredible heat, the 3rd, which many commentators have argued is as good as most finals in recent years.

In addition to our heat prices, we now have prices to qualify from each race.

We also have a Fab Four up and running, pitting four of the fastest hounds left in the competition in a mythical contest. Heading the market at 7/4 is Wise Thought - See site for a full show.

There are also a range of special markets up on the site under 'Greyhound Racing Special' - including match bets, the trap challenge and some special multi markets.

The supporting card at Wimbledon (live on Sky Sports) is terrific, featuring the likes of Barnfield On Air and Blonde Dino in the Veterans, Brimardon Star, Zorro and Lorrys Options in the Stayers, plus the mighty Flying Winner looking to defend her unbeaten record in the Marathon – prices available now on all the live Sky races.

Sunday 17th May

Oh what a night!

A night that promised much, delivered much more – with arguably the greatest drama being reserved for the quarter-final draw and the incredible array of talent that was drawn out of the drum for the 9.20pm race on Tuesday.

From the trading room standpoint it was a cracking night – turnover was well up on the same night last year and some of the views we took proved right.

The opening contest saw a gamble on Deanridge Fury (evens into 4/6) go astray and the Dean Childs trained dog found trouble on the second bend, eventually doing well to qualify. There were nibbles for the winner, Kindred Sparky, at our 8/1 in the morning, but overall it was definitely 1-0 to the old enemy.

The second heat featured a truly titanic clash between the ante-post favourite Fear Zafonic and the Irish Derby winner, Shelbourne Aston – yet, incredibly, the market only wanted to be on Cabra Boss. The professional view seemed to be that the 'Boss' was plotted up in stripes and the money spoke volumes as his price contracted to 5/2 from 9/2.

In the race itself, class prevailed as Charlie Lister's star produced his trademark all round pace to hold the persistent Cabra Boss and belated challenge of Shelbourne Aston in a classy 28.70.

Heat Three saw a midweek move pay-off for the punters as our opening offer of 2/1 about Love Mac was snapped up within minutes of the price hitting the web. Further interest at 6/4, including a single bet of £1200, meant that we were in a bad position come race-time. Despite being outpaced off the second bend, Love Mac showed great stamina and class to get back to the lead up the home straight and make it a losing race for the Square.

The fourth of the third round heats was a fascinating contest with three of the main ante-post fancies all going to the traps with high expectations. The market strength developed behind Boherna Best (solid at 6/4) and Ballymac Ruso (5/2 into 2/1), leaving Farloe Reason to slide out to 3/1 (from 15/8). On this occasion, the money was wide of the mark. Boherna Best failed to clear the opening bend and with Farloe Reason showing better pace to the bend, Ballymac Ruso could never land a telling blow.

Ante-post punters were dealt another blow in the next race with Ninja Jamie failing to find a clear passage on the rail, being impeded on at least three occasions before going out behind Irish raider Ja Mann. The main market interest was for Melodys Pat (11/2 into 7/2) and Romeo Turbo (12/1 to 10/1). The latter ran well to qualify, but those who backed the wide runners all night were up against a marginal track bias.

Heat Six saw Bandicoot Tipoki come of age. Charlie Lister's puppy, owned by Ray 'Rapid Ranger” White has been touted as the next coming for months and last night he showed what all the hype was about with a top class display of pure speed. If the remarkable Lister can coax a little more from his star youngster, he really could go onto Derby glory – if not this year, then maybe next. Considering the earlier efforts from Fear Zafonic and Farloe Reason, it was bemusing that Bandicoot Tipoki proved hard to lay, starting at 9/4, having traded at 6/4 in the morning market. The money in this race came for Droopys Lee (3/1 from 9/2) and Glenard Sunrise (11/4 to 9/4).

The penultimate qualifier went the way of the bookmakers as the brave little bitch Cabra Fly won at 12/1 (only 11/2 with us in the morning). The major move here were for the popular Scottish raider Greenwell River (4/5 from 13/8).

The race was marred by the injury to Dotland Hit Man – an event that was sad enough in its own right, but was tainted even more by the moronic booing by a handful of punters on the terraces as the stricken dog was lifted from the track. Wimbledon make much of their ability to fill the terraces on a Saturday night, but, not for the first time, the sort of 'customers' that behaved so badly last night bore testament to their lack of appreciation for the sport. The GRA seem obsessed with the numbers to appease their paymasters at Risk Capital, and there seems little chance that they will ever take any time, or spend any money, on attempting to educate their paying customers about the sport itself.

Rant over!

Back to the trading and those punters in the know and the so called experts of the betting ring are often heard to deride punters who bet at Starting Price. The mantra – always take a price – is repeated frequently by those seeking to advise the uninitiated, but in the final race of an enthralling third round, this proved wide of the mark as the morning line favourite Wise Thought went off at 3/1 (10/3 with Blue Square, thanks to SP+). This was due in no small part to the gamble on Windy Millar. The Pat Rosney trained dog was smashed into 4/5 in the ring, having been freely available at 13/8 in the early market. Cash Dream was also backed – 4/1 from 6/1 – but Wise Thought never gave his backers a moments concern as he outpaced the slow starting Windy Millar to the bend to win unchallenged in a top class 28.66 – a performance that, after the quarter-final draw – took him to the top of the ante-post market.

Friday 15th May

We now have a full range of markets and betting opportunities for Super Saturday.

All 48 dogs remaining in the Blue Square Derby will race in the 3rd round, providing racegoers and internet viewers with an 105 minutes of top class action at Plough Lane.

In addition to our heat prices, we now have prices to qualify from each race.

We also have our regular Super Six up and running, pitting six of the fastest hounds left in the competition in a mythical contest. Heading the market at 7/2 is Boherna Best – See site for a full show.

There are also a trio of special markets up on the site under 'Third Round Specials', including the Number of Irish Wins and Number of Charlie Lister trained wins on Saturday.

Don't forget that our outright prices will be updated after every heat on Saturday!

Sunday 10th May

Friday was a typically mixed night for punters and for the firm.

Things were fairly low key in the opening two heats, with Greenwell River (3/1) and Cabra Boss (5/4) going off close to their morning line prices.

Heat Three went our way, ironically as Toosey Blue had been all the rage a week earlier and had let his supporters down (5/4 from 2/1). This time the old boy made no mistake and was returned at 10/1, as the gamble on Melodys Pat (5/2 to 6/4) was foiled.

Heat Four proved to be one of the busiest contests of the night, with good money seen for Cash Dream, Side Bet and the winner Kindred Sparky (6/1 from 8/1) – the latter landing some shrewd wagers.

The punters landed a blow to the p&l in Heat Five as persistent money forced his opening price of 3/1 down to a SP of 7/4.

Despite the last three strong facnies all winning – Bandicoot Tipoki (evens), Wise Thought (8/11) and Boherna Best (6/4), the damage to the book was limited as business was generally light.

The Saturday action started with a most dramatic and exciting heat with all six dogs in with a chance up the home straight and only a length and half separating the whole field at the line. The punters got this one right as the winner was well backed with us (8/1 to 5/1), having been as big as 12/1 in places in the morning.

Kinda Ready defied a market drift in Heat 10 (6/4 out to 2/1) as the main market interest centred on Coolavanny Dart (11/2 to 4/1).

The main ante-post move off the 2nd round came after Heat 11, when Windy Millar showed blistering all round pace to make all the running in a classy 28.58. Rumours that a certain Derby winning Irish handler had been over during the week to assist in Windy Millar's preparation ensured that the best price now available for outright glory is 14/1, having been 28/1 on Friday morning.

Another major ante-post fancy was a short priced favourite to land Heat 12, as Pat Curtin's Irish Derby winner Shelbourne Aston went to the traps a solid 1/2 chance. The big blue/brindle dog showed better pace up than usual, which looked sure to give him first bend problems, but he put his strength and courage to good use and turned third out of the second corner. Unleashing his trade-mark middle pace down the Plough Lane back straight, Shelbourne Aston then hit the front off the final bend before coming clear on the run for home, posting a decent 28.73 in the process.

The feature of Heat 13 was the market weakness in Deanridge Fury. Having traded as short as 8/15 in places on Saturday morning, the Dean Childs trained three year old went off a even money shot. The money was for the consistent Raving Black (6/1 from 10/1), but despite receiving a hefty bump from King Edward at the first bend and then a persistent challenge from Ja Mann from the third corner, Deanridge Fury dug in to land the contest by the minimum margin.

Heat 14 provided the prospect of a titantic clash between Ninja Jamie and Ballymac Under. The morning business was all for the Irish challenger as bets including a 3,500/2,000 saw his price close at 5/4 from 7/4. However, not for the first time, Charlie Lister managed to elicit a pinging break from one of his charges when it mattered and Ninja Jamie showed terrific all round pace and class to land the race.

Despite concerns about his trap three draw, Fear Zafonic went off a solid 8/11 (from 10/11) chance in Heat 15. However, the ante-post favourite failed to clear the field on the run-up and had to settle for the final qualifying berth in third. Looking at the replays after the race, it was clear that Fear Zafonic had performed with great credit in the circumstances and he remains at the head of our ante-post list.

Punters left Plough Lane on good terms with themselves as Ballymac Ruso (1/2 from 4/7) was a clear cut winner of Heat 16.

From a trading point of view we ended the weekend just in front and we are looking forward to the eight third round heats on Saturday night.

Sunday 3rd May

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away ……..

Saturday night was a roller-coaster ride for the trading room in Paddington, with a mixed bag of results after another compelling card to complete the opening round of the 2009 Blue Square Derby.

You could have been forgiven for thinking that for the opening hour at Plough Lane last night, you were actually at Shelbourne Park as the Irish dominated the early exchanges.

Cash Dream got the ceilidh under way and was well backed in the process, winning at 4/5, having traded at 5/4 in a place in the morning. His explosive early burst produced a 4.89 sectional and not many can break the 4.90 barrier, so we will giving Cash Dream full respect in his future races.

Former Wimbledon handler Owen McKenna produced Side Bet to land a few sizeable bets (4/1 was laid by one firm) in Heat 14. However, Pat Curtin stole the show with a quick-fire treble in the next three Heats, culminating in an eye-catching Wimbledon race debut from the imposing Shelbourne Aston.

Pat had plenty of reasons to smile as he confirmed after his Irish Derby winner had shown excellent trackcraft and middle pace to secure Heat 17, that he had landed a 50,000 Euro treble courtesy of Shelbourne main ring layer Ted Hegarty.

Professional opinion was divided as to the value of Shelbourne Aston's success, with one noted judge dismissing the performance with the line ….. “the Hawk would have done that in 28.70”.

To my eyes, the performance as a joy to watch and with his natural strength, allied to superb trackcraft, I take the view that Shelbourne Aston is a serious Derby contender.

Earlier, in Heat 15, Shelbourne Denny displayed an excellent performance, combining pace and courage to hold off the persistent Cabra Fly (backed from 3/1 to 9/4) and strong Bubby Totti (6/4 to evens). Castlehill Pat produced a decent effort to outstay the pacey Slick Ace on the run to the line to land Heat 16.

After the Irish domination, it was great to see Lenson Expess give Len Ponder and his entourage something to smile about, after the disappointment of seeing Lenson Joker go out of the competition on Friday night. The Express is a model of consistency and showed true class to burrow his way up on the inside to get up in the final 50 yards to nail Head Iton Ellis.

The Derby maestro Charlie Lister then stepped up to the plate and landed a quick-fire double courtesy of Tyrur Kenny (weak in the market) and Farloe Reason (solid at 4/6). The latter defied what some had perceived to be a tricky draw in five, and showed terrific all round pace to win in a classy 28.84.

Dotland Hit Man landed some proper bets in Heat 21 – we accommodated a series of three figure bets at our opening 4/1 and the Newcastle raider landed the gamble (SP 5/2) in good style.

We got the better of the battle in Heats 22 and 23, before Deanridge Fury sent punters home happy when leading off the second bend and coming home well clear of Lavey Vieri. Our morning price of evens was popular and he was definitely the best backed dog of the night in our books.

With first round honours pretty even, the battle will recommence at 8pm on Friday 8th May – bring it on!!

Saturday 2nd May

Blue Square Derby – Round One

With Boxing taking over from football on the back pages today, I will use a cheap analogy from the noble sport to sum up the view from the trading room after the first 12 heats of the 2009 Blue Square Derby.

In the age old battle between the bookmaker and the punter, the Judge's scorecard for the opening night reads.

6 rounds to the punter, 4 rounds to the bookmaker with two rounds drawn.

The opening heat saw the punters get off to a flyer with Melodys Pat always in command to land some decent bets (4/5 from 5/4). The situation was quickly balanced with the 7/1 success by Lazerus in Heat 2. Fear Zafonic and Ballymac Under were both heavily backed, especially the latter, who had traded at 4/6 with us in the morning market.

Southern Sunset (14/1) proved a virtual skinner for the book in Heat 5, but those gains were soon repaid as Ninja Jamie landed several four figure trades in Heat 6. Love Mac (8/1 to 11/2) was a taker on Heat 7, whilst the punters got the better of the exchanges in Heats 8 and 9, with Cabra Boss (6/4 to 8/11) proving to be our worst result of the night.

The supremely fast Windy Millar showed terrific all round pace to win arguably the toughest heat of the evening (10pm), accounting for major ante-post fancies Wise Thought and Boherna Best in the process. Given his lack of Wimbledon experience, this son of Honcho Classic could be a contender for outright honours come the end of the month.

Heat 11 proved one of the quietest races of the dozen, whilst the trading team went home happy after a considerable plunge on Toosey Blue (2/1 to 5/4) went astray.

The Blue Square team were also proud of their opening efforts in the annual Tipping Challenge, with all three entrants posting a day one level stakes profit – updated outright prices available now on the site.

Thursday 30th April

With the start of the 2009 Blue Square Derby nearly upon us, our team of compilers and traders have been working hard to provide the best possible service for the opening 12 heats.

All the action can be watched live on our website, and our exclusive show from the track will include race-by-race previews and reviews from the top greyhound team of Jonathan Hobbs and Darrell Williams, plus interviews with all the key connections and comment from Blue Square's Alan Alger and Rodney Eales.

In addition to our competitive first round heat prices, we are offering our special SP+ concession and 10% bonus to forecasts, and 15% bonus to tricasts.

We have also revealed our opening Super Six.

The bet proved highly popular last year, and again pits six of the best dogs on show on Friday against each other, with the winner being determined by calculated times.

Friday Super Six

10/3 Ninja Jamie 7/2 Ja Mann 7/2 Fear Zafonic 4/1 Ballymac Under 5/1 Ballymac Ruso 11/2 Boherna Best

We also have a 12 race trap challenge for Friday

11/8 Trap One 2/1 Trap Two 3/1 Trap Three 16/1 Trap Four 14/1 Trap Five 12/1 Trap Six

Remember, we will be updating the outright market throughout the competition – no need to wait for all the heats to be run or for the second round draw to take place and we will be keeping our 6 places concession open until the start of the second round.

Tuesday 28th April

From a trading perspective, the Blue Square Greyhound Derby is one of the highlights of the sporting calendar.

It is truly the stand-out greyhound competition of the year; the one all owners and trainers want to win.

For the month of May, all eyes will be on the old Plough Lane stadium as over 140 dogs from the UK and Ireland do battle over six rounds in search of the £100,000 first prize and the place in history that the win accords.

The first bets were taken in the ante-post book as the runners crossed the line eleven months ago, and in total we have fielded money for 151 dogs.

The largest wager we have accommodated, so far, is £1000 each way on Barnfield On Air at 100/1, and he represents our biggest risk as things stand.

For the record, here is a list of the six worst results in the ante-post book and also a summary of the six dogs who have proved most popular in terms of bets placed:

Our Top Six Losers

Barnfield On Air (£1000 e/w @ 100/1)
Outandgoodnight (£500 e/w @ 125/1)
Bandicoot Topoki (£600 e/w @ 40/1)
Slip The Lark (£1000 win @ 50/1)
Droopys Miller (£200 e/w @ 200/1)
Bubbly Totti (£500 e/w @ 100/1)

Top Six Most Popular (by bets placed)

Ballymac Ruso
Fear Zafonic
Ninja Jamie
Boherna Best
Wise Thought
College Causeway

With the competition looking so open, we will be keeping our 6 places concession on outright each-way bets open until the start of the second round (Friday 8th May).

In addition to being first up with heat prices for all 24 first round heats, we have a terrific range of special markets, ranging from the old chestnut, Trap One to win the Derby (6/1) to the more challenging Top Irish Dog.