THE Townviewfoods.com Champion Stakes will come to a conclusion at Shelbourne Park this evening and fireworks are expected in the €20,000 contest.

We are now on the verge of the most important part in the Irish greyhound calendar.

OLLIE Bray can begin to dream of further Derby glory after the powerfully built Royal Patrol confirmed his standing as one of Ireland’s most exciting young trackers with a superb last grasp victory in the ECC Timber Open 550 at Shelbourne Park on Saturday night.

THERE will be loads of Derby chat in the air this evening at Shelbourne where the pre-racing trial session will see many top names going through their paces from the new 525 and 550 yards traps.

There’s no doubt about the big event on the Irish greyhound calendar this week, it just has to be Saturday’s Town View Foods Champion Stakes final at Shelbourne Park.

The best wine was certainly kept to last when the draw for the heats of the Town View Foods Champion Stakes was made at Shelbourne yesterday.

THERE’S just over three weeks to the start of the 2010 Ladbrokes.com Derby and a number of potential challengers flexed their muscles at Shelbourne Park on Saturday, although few impressed quite like Barefoot Bullet and Farley Blitz as they took the two feature races.

LEMON JET was the undoubted star of last week’s opening round of the Thurles Fresh Milk Tipperary Cup and his reward for a wonderful 28.82 return is a tricky trap one draw in Heat 5 of tonight’s second round.

Following the dramatic happenings in the Dail on Tuesday evening and the subsequent fall-out, the Government will hardly be looking forward to the vote on the Dog Breeding Establishment Bill next week.

THE BIG question mark in advance of Saturday’s Sporting Press Irish Oaks final is whether Skywalker Queen can hit top form at just the right moment to win the bitch classic for the second year on the trot.

With still two days to go before the deadline, the entry list for the Paddypower.com Irish Derby had reached 100 and the signs are that the final number will be very close to the ideal number of 144.

The focus of the greyhound world over the next two months will be very much on Shelbourne Park and patrons of the track will enjoy a feast of racing. The final of the Boylesports.com Champion Stakes on Saturday night will act as a hugely valuable prelude to the Paddypower.com Irish Derby which will commence on Wednesday week.

Last year’s Irish Derby finalist Headleys Bridge has been withdrawn from Saturday’s heats of the Boylesports.com Champion Stakes at Shelbourne and he will be replaced by first reserve Slick Sioux.

We’ve all grown up to the culture of the Spring, Summer and Winter Sales in the stores and other retail outlets. Well the Sales culture has now hit the greyhound world and Curraheen Park has come up with an enticing July Sale which will see racegoers qualify for half price racing!