Irish greyhound racing continues to find its feet post lockdown with preparations continuing this weekend ahead of the return of the classics in the coming weeks. The start of the National Produce Stakes at Clonmel in just over a week will kick off a hectic second half to the year.
To highlight how busy it will be in the coming months, the aforementioned Produce Stakes, Corn Cuchulainn, Champion Stakes, Irish Sprint Cup, Open Bitch 550, Tipperary Cup and Puppy Oaks will all commence in July alone.
Of course, the Irish Derby is the feature event on the calendar and, in recent days, attention has started to turn to the blue ribboned event.
One would assume that the defending champion Lenson Bocko would be at the head of the betting for the classic which is due to start in just six weeks but that’s not the case. Instead, the bookmakers have been diving for cover following a plunge on one of his rivals, which has seen his price completely collapse.
Ballymac Inspeed is now an 8-1 chance for Derby glory with the sponsors Boylesports which is pretty remarkable. Yes, he can be backed at 12-1 in a couple of places but even at that price he looks far too short.
Have no doubt, Ballymac Inspeed is a hugely fast greyhound and one that would have to enter calculations when attempting to pick a potential Derby champion but his prominent position in the market is based more on rumour and whispers than his actual achievements to date.
Don’t get me wrong, Ballymac Inspeed has shown that he is very much a competition greyhound and one of Ireland’s fastest, winning the aptly named Future Champion Unraced Stake at Enniscorthy last October, then running up both the National Puppy Stake and Gold Cup before finishing third in the Easter Cup just ahead of the lockdown.
It’s an impressive CV for a greyhound that only turned two in May but it’s also worth pointing out that since winning the Future Champion Unraced Stake at Enniscorthy, he has only won three of his subsequent fourteen races.
Indeed, in his latest start - in the final of the Easter Cup - he was an 8-1 chance before finishing third to Wolfe. Incredibly, he is the same price to win a Derby.
So why is he so short you may ask. After a bit of investigation, it seems his new owners, Colin and Harry Davey may have put their money down and advised a few of their friends to do so too. The two men are also involved in a prominent tipping site and after advising their followers to put their money down, it seems they did just that.
And so here we are with an 8-1 favourite for the toughest competition to win on the calendar. If you are looking to back something ante-post for the competition, may we advise steering clear of Ballymac Inspeed at the current odds.
As stated, he is an incredibly fast greyhound and deserves to be mentioned as a possible Derby winner but he should be a 25-1 chance. It will be interesting to see how he performs when he reappears in the coming weeks and, have no doubt, the bookmakers will be looking on too.
