Derby champion Razldazl George will make his seasonal bow this evening when he lines out in the opening round of the College Causeway/Killahan Phanter Easter Cup at Shelbourne Park.

Except for a few high profile absentees most of the big names will be chasing the €25,000 prize when the classic commences at Shelbourne on Saturday.

Following his sale on Saturday last, Cabra Noel is likely to race as Tyrur Justin when he begins his quest for English Derby honours at Wimbledon.

TONIGHT’S card at Curraheen is the last one before Christmas and it features the final of the classy Gain Feeds Christmas Stake, which can go to Burgess Star.

A MOST eventful year on the Irish greyhound front accelerates towards its end and it will finish as it began - with a flurry of top class open action all over the country.

THERE had been genuine fears there would be a shortage of greyhounds to satisfy all the extra racing in Dublin in the build-up to Christmas.

THE 2011 Pat Hennerty Sales Irish Laurels gets underway at Curraheen Park tonight and it’s fitting that reigning champ Tyrur Enda should set the ball rolling in the first heat.

A LOOK through the betting lists for the Ladbrokes.com Derby suggests that Dolores Ruth is in a stronger position than any of her counterparts to lift the prize.

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.

THIS year’s Sporting Press Irish Oaks has been right out of the top drawer and this evening there are two ultra-competitive semi-finals down for decision.

IT’S another busy week on the tracks with top action all over the country.

Champion Irish greyhound trainer Paul Hennessy will branch out tomorrow night when he saddles his first two runners at a horse race meeting.

LAST year’s Hennerty Laurels runner-up Tubbertelly Dubh begins his build up to the Curraheen classic when he contests the opening round of the Larry Dunne Open 525 at Shelbourne on Saturday night.

The appointment of Phil Meaney as Chairman of Bord na gCon, as exclusively reported in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, was confirmed yesterday morning by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney.

DOLORES Ruth is responsible for the favourite in both semi-finals of the College Causeway/Killahan Phanter Easter Cup at Shelbourne Park this evening and while both look likely to qualify for next week's final they will need to be on their toes to emerge on top this evening.

The Irish team has made a fine start to the Scottish Derby and three members will be in action in the semi-finals at Shawfield on Saturday.

THE exciting Busters Choice can land the third quarter-final of the Kudos Supersprint at Curraheen Park tonight.

TOMORROW is all about the future of Irish greyhound racing.

It is getting down to the serious end of affairs in the Pat Hennerty Sales Irish Laurels at Curraheen Park and the talk of the greyhound world this week is that intriguing fourth quarter final to be run on Saturday night.

One can already sense the buzz developing around this year’s Pat Hennerty Sales Irish Laurels and the first round action suggested that Curraheen Park patrons are going to be served up some wonderful racing between now and final night.

The two sessions of the opening round of the Laurels were completed at Curraheen Park over the weekend and ante-post favourite Tyrur Enda emerged with his reputation enhanced while his kennel-companion and Derby runner-up Tyrur Big Mike’s suitability to the circuit remains somewhat in question despite a winning start to his campaign.

OWEN McKenna had the perfect start to Derby final week when he won Monday’s Catunda Harry Champion Stakes final at Youghal with the Lorraine Moore owned Pablo Supreme.

THE legendary Australian tracker and sire Brett Lee has been put down some weeks after sustaining an injury in a fall while running around the yard in his kennels.

THE Ladbrokes.com Irish Derby at Shelbourne Park is now trimmed to 24 runners from an original field of 144. Following a flying 29.42 last weekend, Tyrur Big Mike now heads the betting lists.

IT is every greyhound person’s dream to have a runner in the Ladbrokes.com Irish Derby but Galway owner P.J. Fahy is not the typical owner.

NEWS from across the water yesterday is that one of the biggest entries for many years will go into the draw on Sunday for the first round of the Williamhill.com English Derby and among them there will be one of the biggest ever Irish raiding teams.

LEADING owner P.J. Fahy suffered a double blow this week as two of his outstanding trackers have been struck by injury that will force them to miss major engagements.

CLONMEL manager Eddie Anderson was a very pleased man yesterday when he reported that the Red Mills Produce Stakes had filled with 96 entries and all is now in readiness for the great feature which is the highlight of the racing year at the South Tipperary venue.

There’s quite a treat in store for Curraheen Park racegoers on Saturday when last year’s Cashmans Laurels hero Sevenheads Bay reverts to two-bend racing as he opens his seasonal campaign with a challenge for the Kudos Supersprint.