English Derby appearance is the 'stuff of dreams' for Cork's O'Connell family
CORK INTEREST: Cork-owned dogs Clona Duke and Gaytime Nemo will run in tonight's English Greyhound Derby. Pic: Towcester Racecourse.
The final of the £175,000 to the winner English Greyhound Derby takes centre stage at Towcester tonight and there's huge Cork interest in the feature final.
It’s been a tremendous couple of weeks for Graham Holland and the Golden-based trainer has managed to get three through to the decider with Swords Rex, Clona Duke and Gaytime Nemo all securing their passage to this point.
Brendan O'Connell, Blarney, is represented by Gaytime Nemo. Another really talented sort, Nemo has won two of his five rounds, clocking sub-29-second runs on two occasions.
He caught the eye in the semi-final, showing plenty of speed after a poor start when behind Clona Duke.
"The feedback from Graham (Holland) is that he came out of the race last Saturday night really well and that he's had a very good week with him. It's all very positive," O'Connell said.
Drawn very well, in trap two, a big run is very much expected. The O'Connell family will be dreaming of Derby success, having had several top-class greyhounds over the years.
"It's absolutely huge. The dog is in my name but he's very much a family dog, he's known as the O'Connell's dog," said the Cork owner.
"He's also home bred, we have his mum here, she's retired with us now. That makes it extra special and we've worked very hard over the years. We have a small kennel and getting a dog to the final of the English Derby is the stuff of dreams, it's very, very difficult to do."
He continued: "What makes this story a little bit special is that he picked up a very serious injury in January. One that he had a good chance to come back from, but maybe not come back to perform at the same level.
"He's been out with five months so it was unbelievable to hear Graham (Holland) suggesting that he was ready to be entered in the English Derby."
Back in 2015, the O'Connell family-owned Gaytime Hawk ran in the final of the Irish Greyhound Derby. After winning four of the rounds, it wasn't to be in the final as things went wrong and he finished sixth on the night. Nemo is the real deal and he should be in the mix from a great draw tonight.
Clona Duke is owned by Kevin O'Brien in Clonakilty. A winner of the 2022 RPGTV Juvenile Derby when 20-1 outsider of the field in the final.
Clona Duke warmed up for the Derby when delivering a fantastic performance to win the €10,000 to the winner Select Stakes in Waterford.
With three wins and two second-place finishes in the event to date, Clona Duke broke the track record in the opening round and he went even quicker last week, returning to top form and breaking the track record for the second time in the event, posting a sensational 28.69.
Kevin O'Brien is no stranger to big race success in the world of greyhound racing, Clona Blaze finished third to Ballyanne Sim in the final of the 2018 Irish Greyhound Derby at Shelbourne Park.
The following year, Clona Blaze put on a stunning performance to win the final of the Easter Cup. There's no doubt that Clona Duke is one of the quickest greyhounds in the world and if doing things right, he is more than capable of landing tonight's showpiece event.
Trap five isn't ideal, but he overcame it to win the Select Stakes earlier this year. He's a massive player for outright glory.
Swords Rex, unbeaten so far in the event, will likely start as a short-priced favourite. Trained by the aforementioned Holland, Rex is unbeaten so far in the event and if reproducing one of his usual quick starts from trap four, it will take a special performance to deny the Barbara Lowndes-owned runner.
The main UK hope is Romeo Command and he runs from trap three, while Cochise will race from the inside trap. Ninja Kerry is the sole-seeded greyhound running from the outside of the track.
The 93rd running of the Star Sports English Greyhound Derby is due off at 9.15pm.
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