Hopes for a first locally trained winner of the Premier Greyhound Racing Kent Derby in four years are high with three runners in Saturday’s £20,000 feature race trained in the county.
English Greyhound Derby finalist King Memphis, Hunt Cup champion Havana Top Note and Open Race winner Atomic Crimes all qualified for Central Park Stadium’s showpiece race at the weekend.
Ashford-based Elizabeth McNair’s King Memphis caught the eye most when lowering his own track record in Semi Final Two where he stopped the clock at 28.57 seconds – an average speed of 38.44mph.
Kennel mate Havana Top Note qualified for his seventh Category One final thanks to a late burst of speed in Semi Final Three while Harvel-based Tony Collett watched Atomic Crimes finish second in Semi Final One.
The competition’s three other finalists – Droopys Manowar, Droopys Display and El Tornillo – are also trained in the south-east by Maxine Locke (Droopys Manowar and Droopys Display) and Dave Lee respectively.
Rab McNair, Assistant Trainer to wife Elizabeth, is hopeful of winning a sixth Category One title this year come Saturday but is equally mindful of the strong competition.
“A lot of people are excited about El Tornillo, and rightly so,” said Rab. “But I’m not writing off any greyhound in the final – it’s a Category One race and they’re all in it for a reason.
“It can be a bit of a guessing game working out how long it will take to get a greyhound to full fitness. Throughout the competition we’ve said King Memphis has more to come, and that’s been the case.
“All the preparation is complete, now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that things fall into place on the night.
“(Havana) Top Note looks at me every day at home and tells me he wants a six-bend race. He’s in great form and he’s finishing his races so strongly right now – he’s a mile clear at the pick-up.
“We’ll look forward to Saturday’s final with him and then maybe give the Gold Collar a go at Crayford next month.”
Trained by Epping-based Dave Lee, El Tornillo is the Premier Greyhound Racing Kent Derby’s only other finalist to have won his heat and semi final en route to Saturday’s £20,000 race.
The two-year-old brindled dog is second favourite to scoop the top prize – and his trainer believes he stands every chance of finishing in front if he has his trapping boots on.
Dave said: “Planning for these competitions is the easy part – executing that plan is where it gets difficult. He’s won at eight different tracks in the UK so he is incredibly versatile and he has been a brilliant greyhound for us.
“It’s a quality final, but if he traps well he should lead the dogs on his inside to the first bend where we need him to be in front. This is his first Category One final which is special to us, we’ve believed in his ability from when he started trialling so hopefully luck will be on our side.”
Tickets, trackside packages and restaurant bookings for the 2024 Premier Greyhound Racing Kent Derby at Central Park Stadium on Saturday night are available to book here. Doors open at 5.30pm with the first of 12 races on the night off at 6.37pm. The feature race begins at 9.11pm.
2024 Premier Greyhound Racing Kent Derby: Droopys Manowar, King Memphis, Havana Top Note, Droopys Display, El Tornillo, Atomic Crimes.
