The Williamhill.com English Derby will reach the semi-final stage next Saturday when the third round is run at Wimbledon and hopes of an Irish victory in the classic are sky high following another very successful weekend for the raiding party.

THE Hegarty Bookmakers 600 dominates the home racing scene this week but there will also be huge interest in the progress of our numerically very strong team which will be on duty in the second round of the Williamhill.com English Derby at Wimbledon.

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.

BLARNEY trainer John Linehan will be breaking new ground when he challenges for the Williamhill.com English Derby with his Curraheen Park qualifier Droopys Sastre.

The College Causeway/Killahan Phanter Easter Cup picture changed drastically yesterday when two high-profile withdrawals from next Saturday’s second round resulted in Thurlesbeg Joker becoming a very hot favourite to land the prestigious Shelbourne Park feature.

Three days to go to the world’s greatest greyhound race and, with the exception of Faypoint Man, there are no negative vibes emanating concerning the other finalists in Saturday’s Paddypower.com Irish Derby final at Shelbourne Park.

The College Causeway team will be anxious in advance of tomorrow’s Paddypower.com Irish Derby semi-finals at Shelbourne. A year ago their star tracker was a very strong favourite in advance of the semis but trouble down the far side saw him bid farewell to his prospects.

THERE are four Kerry- owned speedsters involved in the quarter-finals of the Paddypower.com Irish Derby at Shelbourne Park tomorrow night and there will be plenty of support with the Kingdom’s fans in town for Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Meath.

Limerick may not have enjoyed the best of luck at Croke Park last Sunday but greyhounds from the county are performing heroically in the Paddypower.com Irish Derby with both Shaneboy Lee and St Louis Spirit figuring among the top three favourites as we approach the third round of the classic at Shelbourne on Saturday night.

You just can’t keep College Causeway out of the headlines.

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.

TWELVE months on from his famous last gasp victory over Killahan Phanter, Shelbourne Aston is again in the line up for the final of the Boylesports.com Champion Stakes hoping to become the first greyhound to retain his title.

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.

MORE than double the number of required entries was received for the Boylesports.com Champion Stakes which is set to commence at Shelbourne Park on Saturday.

FOLLOWING her brave victory in Sunday’s Boylesports International at Dundalk, Skywalker Queen was yesterday confirmed a definite runner in the Boylesports Champion Stakes which will commence at Shelbourne on Saturday night.

The trap draw could the deciding factor in the Kerry Agribusiness Irish St Leger final at Limerick this evening.

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