It’s been a testing few weeks on the track, with the unfortunate injury to reigning champ Skywalker Puma and the prospect of ante-post favourite Ballymac Vic exiting the ETS Irish Derby without lining up for Saturday night’s first quarter-final at Shelbourne.

In Saturday night's second session of the first round of the ETS Irish Greyhound Derby, the bookmakers enjoyed some great results, most notably when that brilliant servant Abbeyville Tipp triumphed in a race in which Droopys Jet and Ballymac Vic were both eclipsed.

Only this week, I was reminded why Jim McGuinness’s first All-Ireland title as coach of Donegal was much longer than two seasons in the making.