Five-strong Dowling is enjoying the Derby ride

WITH five serious players still standing as the Star Sports & Orchestrate Derby hits the third-round stage tomorrow night, Irish trainer Liam Dowling remains in a great position as he bids to add another Towcester crown to the one he won in 2024 with De Lahdedah.

The renowned Kerry-based breeder and trainer entered his largest-ever team this year, with an initial entry of nine, reduced to eight with the withdrawal in season of Ballymac Siun, and now leads the way numerically alongside Graham Holland with his handful of talented survivors.

Speaking from his base at local trainer Peter Harnden’s kennels, Dowling said yesterday: “So far, so good, but there’s a long way to go yet and we all know a Derby dream can be taken away in the blink of an eye.

“The five we have in there still are largely young dogs, only Ballymac Stud is a 2023 whelp, and for some of them you’d hope this will be a great stepping stone for next year too.”

Leading the way so far has been Ballymac Duffle, who has set a new best on the clock in both rounds, and the new competition favourite looks well set in trap one tomorrow night.

“He’s settled in well and has taken to the track from day one,” Dowling said. “He ran behind [Ballymac] Deniro in the Juvenile Classic final at Tralee and then made the Kirby semis at Limerick and has always shown plenty of ability.

“He has been trapping well from the new boxes at Towcester and has that pace up. He’s only had nine races so you’d hope there may be more to come too.”

Ballymac Duffle is joined in the third round by litter-brother Ballymac Ralf, who also went down the Tralee/Limerick route to Towcester and opened his account at the track in last week’s second round.

His trainer said: “He’s not a big dog, but is very determined. He cut loose last weekend and put a decent time on the board, but this is a very strong competition and things are hotting up now. You don’t win a Derby at this stage, but he has shown a little more of what he is capable of.”

Ballymac Deniro, winner of that Juvenile Classic final in March, produced arguably the standout performance of the first round when coming from last to first to win well, and then ran a cracker behind Mark Wallis’s Greyhound of the Year Proper Heiress last week.

He now lines up in a red-hot eighth heat alongside kennelmate Ballymac Stud, an Irish Derby semi-finalist who is two-from-two in the competition, with the likes of Droopys Aladdin, Strike It Skye and Harnden’s also unbeaten Salacres Lock Up also in opposition.

“That’s some heat,” Dowling said. “And I suppose I’m hoping Peter’s dog does us a favour by breaking from four and putting pressure on the inside trio.

“I’d love both of mine to go through, but if you qualified one from that heat you wouldn’t complain. Deniro has run two very strong races and I thought he acquitted himself well against Proper Heiress, who is a classy dog handled by a genius.

“Stud has been very consistent. He has age and experience on his side. I’d say he’ll need to come out again as there’s nowhere to hide in that race.”

Ballymac Iroko, Dowling’s other contender, is one his trainer feels may want further in time. “He has looked strong enough in qualifying, and took his chance in the first round. He ran well to qualify last week and a longer trip may be for him in the future. He has a tough race coming up, but like the others he’s fit and well which is where you want to be.”

As for those eliminated, which includes the brilliant Ballymac Setanta, he added: “We took a chance with Setanta in not giving him a trial after a tough Kirby campaign [shared second behind Bouncing Monarch in the final] and perhaps the gamble didn’t pay off.

“But it was the right thing for the dog and he’s fine. I will let him lie low for a while, but the Irish Derby is the main target. Ballymac Malinas is back home and will likely run at Shelbourne next, while Ballymac Tibet has been sold now and will be heading to Nottingham.”

A man with a great Derby pedigree, having secured many finalists and tasted victory in both the English and Irish deciders, Dowling has been impressed with the ongoing improvements to Towcester under the stewardship of Mike Davis.

He said: “In my opinion Towcester is the right track to host the English Derby. The work and improvements that have been done under the new management is clear to see and I’d certainly not be one wishing to see it go anywhere else.

“The 500m course is a proper test, and as a breeder you take things like that into account. It would be a definite blow were the decision makers not to grant them a new deal.” 

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