The Scottish Derby gets underway on at Shawfield on Tuesday and it will be a real test for the dogs with four rounds in the 12 days.

Charlie Lister has won four of the last five renewals of the race and his Farloe Reason has obvious claims. I going to oppose Charlie on this occassion however with a couple of dogs coming over from Ireland.

First up is English Derby runner up Loyal Honcho who proved his toughness when reaching the premier classic final in 2007. He goes in heat four and although he will be tested by Toosey Blue and Kylegrove Top he can his campaign off to a winning start.

Another Irish hound who I think can give a decent account of himself is Four Dubs. Pat Buckley's dog proved he can travel when winning two rounds of the William Hill Classic last year before falling short in the final. His early pace will stand him in good stead and although he faces a tough start against Farloe Reason in heat five he has to backed at the outstanding 50/1 with Corals.

Bet - 6 points each way Loyal Honcho (10/1 Blue Square), 1 point each way Four Dubs (50/1 Coral)

The 'on-off-on' Scottish Derby, now sponsored by IbetX, kicks off on Tuesday night at Shawfield with forty dogs going in eight first round heats (five dogs per race). The first three home in each heat progress to the second round.

Barnfield On Air begins his bid for an unprecedented Derby treble (Scottish, English, Irish) in heat 1 and should be given a good test by Bubbly Totti (formerly Droopys Totti). Heat 4 also looks tasty with Loyal Honcho drawn with Toosey Blue, Affleck Elite and Kylegrove Top. The full draw is as below -

TUESDAY APRIL 1 - IBETX SCOTTISH DERBY 1ST ROUND

19.57 480M HEAT 1

1 GREENWELL CHANT (P J FLAHERTY (SNR), SHAWF)
2 BARNFIELD ON AIR (S POOTS, UNATT)
3 VACANT
4 DROOPYS WOOSNAM (M) (G L FREW, UNATT)
5 ZIGZAG ZIPPER (W) (M WALSH, NEWC)
6 BUBBLY TOTTI (W) (E SOPPITT, UNATT)

20.09 480M HEAT 2

1 CIRCLE STAR (G CARMICHAEL, SHAWF)
2 BARNFIELD MIKE (G J HUTT, UNATT)
3 HIGHFIELD HONDO (P J ROSNEY, NOTTS)
4 VACANT
5 TYRUR LAUREL (M) (P HENNESSY, UNATT)
6 FAUGHAN DAN (M) (C REDDEN, UNATT)

20.22 480M HEAT 3

1 DROOPYS SHERIDAN (M MOORE, HNLOW)
2 KILLOUGH TALE (G L FREW, UNATT)
3 VACANT
4 MUSTANG HAWK (M) (K A MACARI, SLAND)
5 MONSOON JACK (W) (J BATESON, UNATT)
6 QUERNHOW TEMBO (W) (M DANIELS, HULL)

20.35 480M HEAT 4

1 AFFLECK ELITE (C R LISTER, UNATT)
2 LOYAL HONCHO (S GRAHAM, IRE)
3 KYLEGROVE TOP (J BATESON, UNATT)
4 VACANT
5 DOTLAND HIT MAN (M) (A R BELL, NEWC)
6 TOOSEY BLUE (W) (J G MULLINS, UNATT)

21.01 480M HEAT 5

1 FARLOE REASON (C R LISTER, UNATT)
2 BLENHIEM DUBH (J BATESON, UNATT)
3 FOUR DUBS (P BUCKLEY, IRE)
4 CALZAGHE TED (E SOPPITT, UNATT)
5 VACANT
6 NOIRS WILD (M) (O D KUERES, BVUE)

21.14 480M HEAT 6

1 POND GALLILEO (H F WILLIAMS, NEWC)
2 KILLIEFORD RAVEN (C R LISTER, UNATT)
3 GREENWELL RIVER (P J FLAHERTY (SNR), SHAWF)
4 VACANT
5 MEENALA CRUISER (M) (J BATESON, UNATT)
6 CORTSWAY GIANTS (W) (R NELSON, KINSLY)

21.27 480M HEAT 7

1 TYRUR KIERAN (P HENNESSY, UNATT)
2 DROOPYS BUCKS (P BUCKLEY, IRE)
3 VACANT
4 APACHE DAWN (M) (R H KERR, UNATT)
5 BOYSINMAROON (M) (G CARMICHAEL, SHAWF)
6 TITAN TYRONE (W) (L DOYLE, SHAWF)

21.40 480M HEAT 8

1 DROOPYS OBAFEMI (E SOPPITT, UNATT)
2 CLEENAS LADY (M J DARTNALL, READG)
3 QUERNHOW AMIGO (M DANIELS, HULL)
4 CLASH HARMONICA (C R LISTER, UNATT)
5 VACANT
6 LAST WIN (W) (A C REID, SHAWF)

Spears Tarquynn produced a brave performance to land the Pall Mall at Oxford. Claude Gardiner's dog was squeezed out at the start but showed plenty of determination to get back into things and he took up the lead on the run in to land connections the sponsors cash. He now goes for the Derby and is down to 66's from 100/1.

The first two home in the race were the top two on the speed figures so a good result there and the recommended spread bets made a nice 25 point profit.

The ante-post selections fared less well with Blink De Bookies going out in the semi's and Farloe Rio just missing out on the each way money in the final. To be fair Farloe Rio was a little unlucky in running and both dogs were speculative bets at 25/1, at those sorts of prices they can't all win!

Oxford's premier competition, the Pall Mall, is decided tonight in a tight looking contest. All the action is on Sky Sports Xtra from 7:30 with the big race due off at 9:45.

Speed Figs

T2 - Spears Tarquynn 100
T1 - Conker All 92
T3 - Farloe Rio 87
T6 - Unique Option 83+
T4 - Love Tiger 79+
T5 - Positive Step 67+

Spears Tarquynn heads the figures and is a decent price at 5/2 with VC Bet. The only thing putting me off is the fact that there's five railers in the race and things could get messy. Conker All is next best in and is well drawn in trap 1, he's not the quickest dog away but the 13/2 available looks big price. Farloe Rio has plenty of early and could well lead, he was the ante-post selection at 25/1 and is now around the 6/1 mark. Of the others I'm struggling to see why Unique Option is as low as 13/8 in places, he's capable of better than he's shown so far but still looks a dog to take on at that sort of price.

The spreads are interesting on this race and its to those I'm going to turn for a bit of value. Conker All looks a decent buy at 13 on the 50-25-10 market, first or second place puts us in front while there's only a small loss if he's third. I'm also going to sell Unique Option at 22, the dog has to win to put us any real trouble and if he fails to make the first three, which I think is possible, there's a nice profit to be had.

Bet - 1 point sell at 22 of Unique Option, 1 point buy of Conker All at 13.

The Pall Mall final takes place at Oxford on Tuesday night. Coverage is on Sky Sports Xtra from 7:30pm.

The trap draw is as below -

21.45 450M WILLIAMHILL.CO.UK PALL MALL FINAL

1 CONKER ALL
2 SPEARS TARQUYNN
3 FARLOE RIO
4 LOVE TIGER
5 POSITIVE STEP
6 UNIQUE OPTION (M)

Latest betting available here.

Ardmayle Champ won the Puppy Derby at Monmore on Thursday in what was a poor competition for me. The ante-post recommendation Cherryhill Boys went out in the semi finals and I layed the Matt Dartnall's dog in the decider.

The final was a strange race with just about everything apart from the first two home sleeping in the boxes and I knew I was in trouble when Ardmayle Champ got to the first bend in an unexpected lead. Ballymac Ken nearly saved the day failing to catch the winner by a short head and leading just after the line but that would've been a get out of jail job as I didn't really expect him to be competitive.

The winner now heads to Shawfield for the Scottish Derby and the winner’s handler reckons there's further improvement to come from this son of Droopys Kewell.

The Puppy Derby at Monmore comes to a conclusion tonight at 21:12 with the action covered in the betting shops and online via Ladbrokes webcast.

Speed Figs

T1 - Droopys Mikel 89
T5 - Bunrpark Champ 88
T2 - Ardmayle Champ 64+
T4 - Ballymac Ken 60
T6 - Lenson Threeways 56
T3 - Coolavanny Train 48

Droopys Mikel and Burnpark Champ are well clear on the figures and I wouldn't put anyone off backing them both a 9/4 and 11/4 respectively. Droopys Mikel is well drawn in red and looks set to lead unless Burnpark Champ gets a flyer. The latter’s chance probably depends on whether or not he traps and he's still a bit inconsistent at the boxes to have full confidence in him.

Of the others Lenson Threeways also has good early pace and he wouldn't be without a chance at 12/1 though he'll probably need trouble on his inside if he's to succeed. Ardmayle Champ is a well regarded hound and is almost certainly capable of going quicker than he has done in the previous two rounds. He hasn't shown the best of early yet though and could find himself behind a wall of dogs at the first bend. At around odds of 5/2 I'd be prepared to take him on.

A good race in prospect and I expect I'll either be backing traps 1 & 5 or laying trap 2.

The trainers championship takes place at Wimbledon on Tuesday with coverage starting on Sky Sports 3 at 7:30pm. The programme will also include coverage of the Pall Mall semi-finals from Oxford where the ante-post selections Blink De Bookies and Farloe Rio will be in action.

Although I won't be having a bet on the trainers championship it should be an excellent nights racing. Charlie Lister is odds on with the layers to take his third title in four years and while he has a great chance the likes of Mark Wallis and Seamus Cahill will make sure he doesn't have things all his own way.

The highlight on the card for me looks to be the 21:45 where Lister's exciting son of Droopys Maldini, Ninja Jamie, takes on Oaks winner Blonde Jeannie and Arc winner Centaur Decree. It promises to be a cracker.

The Pall Mall continues on Tuesday night with three semi finals drawn as below.

Neither of the ante-post selections, Farloe Rio and Blink De Bookies, managed to get their heads in front in the heats but both have qualified for the next stage.

OXFORD 18th MARCH

1ST SEMI

1 BRICKFIELD CLASS
2 SPEARS TARQUYNN
3 CONKER ALL
4 DRINK UP ZORRO
5 BLINK DE BOOKIES
6 STORMY FORTY (M)

2ND SEMI

1 FARLOE RIO
2 RAGING JACK
3 POSITIVE STEP
4 TONETTA BALBOA
5 SEANIS LAD
6 VIGOROUS ZICO (W)

3RD SEMI

1 RONNIES HUSTLE
2 SWHIMASDYLAN
3 LOVE TIGER
4 CROSSKEYS RAZOR
5 MILLDEAN FLASH
6 UNIQUE OPTION (M)

The latest betting is avaliable here.

The Ladbrokes Puppy Derby reaches its conclusion on Thursday the 20th of March, the finalists line up as below.

They go without the ante-post selection, Cherryhill Boys, who could only manage fourth in his semi last night.

PUPPY DERBY FINAL DRAW

1 DROOPYS MIKEL
2 ARDMAYLE CHAMP
3 COOLAVANNY TRAIN
4 BALLYMAC KEN
5 BURNPARK CHAMP (M)
6 LENSON THREEWAYS (M)

The latest betting is available here.

Just a quick update to let you know that Ladbrokes have live streaming from Monmore tonight which includes the three semi-finals of their Puppy Derby.

The ante-post tip, Cherryhill Boys, goes from trap 5 in a tight looking first qualifier at 21:15.

The live streaming can be accessed here.

The Pall Mall gets underway at Oxford tonight and it looks to be a wide open renewal. The layers go 8/1 the field highlighting the competitveness the event.

Nothing stands out as great value and on this occassion I'm going to split the stakes between a couple of dogs.

First up is Carol Grasso's youngster Blink De Bookies. This dog is unbeaten in three races since coming over from Ireland and took the Ladbrokes Spring Festival 416 last time showing good speed from the boxes. He goes in heat two tonight and can get off to a winning start. The 25/1 available with Betfred and Blue Square looks worth taking.

Another 25/1 shot to consider is Farloe Rio. This son of Honcho Classic won the Reading Masters in 2006 and although coming into the twilight of his career he still has plenty of early zip as demonstrated when taking his heat of the aforementioned Ladbrokes 416.  He can qualify from heat one.

Bet - 1.5 points each way Blink De Bookies at 25/1 (Betfred, Blue Square)
        1.5 points each way Farloe Rio at 25/1 (Betfred, VC Bet, Stan James, Paddy Power)

The Pall Mall gets underway on Thursday night with six first round heats. A good crowd is expected as punters still eager for action after a day at Cheltenham make their way to the Sandy Lane track.

The trap draw for the first round is as below -

THURSDAY MARCH 13
OXFORD

20.05 450M 2008 WILLIAM HILL PALL MALL HEAT 1

1 YAHOO COMMANDER (M GRADY, STGBRN)
2 FARLOE RIO (F C WRIGHT, COVEN)
3 SEANIS LAD (M A WALLIS, WSTOW)
4 RAGING JACK (N COLTON, READG)
5 BOWER TURBO (M) (R F YEATES, READG)
6 COBRA STRIKING (W) (E A GASKIN, ROMFD)

20.20 450M 2008 WILLIAM HILL PALL MALL HEAT 2

1 FANTASY TIGER (S M BUCKLAND, HALLG)
2 BARNFIELD JOE (J J LUCKHURST, CRYFD)
3 BLINK DE BOOKIES (C A GRASSO, HNLOW)
4 RONNIES HUSTLE (K A MARLOW,HARLOW)
5 UNIQUE OPTION (M) (D R PRUHS, PBRGH)
6 DROOPYS SHERIDAN (M) (M MOORE, HNLOW)

20.35 450M 2008 WILLIAM HILL PALL MALL HEAT 3

1 CAGEY JEFF (S C WILLEY, UNATT)
2 BRICKFIELD CLASS (R J GILLING, READG)
3 SWHIMASDYLAN (E A GASKIN, ROMFD)
4 CONKER ALL (R PATTINSON, STGBRN)
5 BLAKES WORLD (M) (J M BURRIDGE, POOLE)
6 NODROG GORDON (W) (J K LITTLE, SWNDN)

21.20 450M 2008 WILLIAM HILL PALL MALL HEAT 4

1 CROSSKEYS RAZOR (M HARRIS, MONMR)
2 BLACK TAXI (J G MULLINS, UNATT)
3 POSITIVE STEP(M H MASSEY, OXFRD)
4 TONETTA BALBOA (R F YEATES, READG)
5 SLUG CITY (W) (R PATTINSON, STGBRN)
6 ISLE OF TARA (W) (A M KIBBLE, OXFRD)

21.35 450M 2008 WILLIAM HILL PALL MALL HEAT 5

1 CHILL OUT LAD (S R MCDONAGH, HNLOW)
2 SPEARS TARQUYNN (A E GARDINER, HOVE)
3 DRINK UP ZORRO (P A SALLIS, HALLG)
4 BLONDE JOEY (M) (J G MULLINS, UNATT)
5 ARTHURS JOY (M) (D CHILDS, UNATT)
6 VIGOROUS ZICO (W) (K A MARLOW, HARLOW)

21.50 450M 2008 WILLIAM HILL PALL MALL HEAT 6

1 MILLDEAN FLASH (S A CAHILL, WSTOW)
2 LOVE TIGER (M L LOCKE, ROMFD)
3 BLACKSTONE CHAMP (B A CLEMENSON, HOVE)
4 STORMY FORTY (M) (D R PRUHS, PBRGH)
5 DEBBIES CHOICE (M) (D B WHITTON, HNLOW)
6 KINDRED SPARKY (W) (M PUZEY, WSTOW)

Things are a bit quiet on the greyhound front at the moment with the Ladbrokes Puppy Derby and the Pall Mall the only major finals in March.

April looks a different matter altogether however with the Scottish Derby now going ahead along with the Grand National, Blue Riband, Golden Sprint and The Regency. Get that lot out of the way and we'll be into the start of the big one, The Derby which kicks off early this year on the 2nd of May.

In the meantime there's the small matter of the Cheltenham Festival to look forward to. The culmination of the National Hunt season kicks off on Tuesday and should, as ever, be a cracker. Good luck if you're having a bet.

The Ladbrokes Puppy Derby continues at Monmore on Thursday with three semi-finals.

The big surprise of the first round was the elimination of the previously unbeaten Ballymac Under who went out after missing the kick and finding trouble a the first bend.

Fastest on the night was the impressive Burnpark Champ who won in a very swift 28.07.

The ante-post selection Cherryhill Boys qualified for the semi's and has a decent chance of progressing to the final.

Semi Final Trap Draw -

THURSDAY MARCH 13

1ST SEMI:

1 BALLYMAC KEN
2 DROOPYS IVANOVIC
3 COOLAVANNY TRAIN
4 VACANT
5 CHERRYHILLS BOY
6 UNIQUE PICTURE (W)

2ND SEMI:

1 SLICK SULTAN
2 ARDMAYLE CHAMP
3 COOLAVANNY DART
4 GOLD WHISPER
5 LENSON THREEWAYS
6 SWIFT JAMES

3RD SEMI:

1 DROOPYS MIKEL
2 SWIFT MOMENT
3 HARMONY BOY
4 ARD ENGINE
5 TITAN TYRONE
6 BURNPARK CHAMP

The latest betting is available here.

The Ladbrokes Puppy Derby starts tomorrow evening at Monmore and looks set to be a cracking contest. Depending on which website you believe, the NGRC or the BGRB, the final will be on Sky on the 20th of March ... or not!

Ballymac Under puts his unbeaten record on the line again and even at a best priced 7/4 there'll be plenty of punters willing to support the Martin Dartnall trained dog. He goes in the first heat at 8 o'clock and it looks a relatively weak affair from which he should have no trouble progressing.

When a short one heads the market there can often be some each way value to be had elsewhere and this time round I think it comes in the shape of ex-Irish dog Cherryhill Boys. This son of Joe Dunne Memorial Puppy Stake winner Jim Joes Up showed good early pace when taking an unraced stake at Clonmel recently, recording a nice 28.71 in the final. If he's settled in on this side of the water he can go a long way and looks well capable of progressing from heat five.

Bet - 4 points each way on Cherryhill Boys at 25/1 (Bet365)

The Ladbrokes Puppy Derby kicks off at Monmore tomorrow evening. Current English Derby favourite Ballymac Under understandably heads the market at 7/4 but there are some other exciting youngsters in the line up and it should be a good competition.

Trap draw-

THURSDAY MARCH 6
MONMORE

20.26 480M LADBROKES PUPPY DERBY 2008 - HEAT 1

1 BALLYMAC UNDER (M J DARTNALL, READG)
2 DROOPYS IVANOVIC (C ALLSOPP, MONMR)
3 SWIFT MOMENT (J W REYNOLDS, ROMFD)
4 DROOPYS MIKEL (K J PRINCE, MONMR)
5 TELLS MICHELLE (M) (J W REYNOLDS, ROMFD)
6 ETHANS GLORY (W) (C R LISTER, UNATT)

20.42 480M LADBROKES PUPPY DERBY 2008 - HEAT 2

1 DROOPYS ENZO (E SOPPITT, UNATT)
2 ONTHERIVER TEN (H CHALKLEY, HNLOW)
3 HARMONY BOY (M J WHITE, UNATT)
4 COOLAVANNY DART (M) (E T PARKER, SHEFF)
5 MOTTOS STAR (M) (C R LISTER, UNATT)
6 ROCKCHASE SAMY (W) (P W YOUNG, ROMFD)

20.58 480M LADBROKES PUPPY DERBY 2008 - HEAT 3

1 ARDMAYLE CHAMP (M J DARTNALL, READG)
2 ON HIS WAY (D J ATKINS, HNLOW)
3 LAVENDERS GRANT (P W YOUNG, ROMFD)
4 ROCKBURST MASON (M A WALLIS, WSTOW)
5 SLICK SULTAN (K R ALLSOP, UNATT)
6 LENSON THREEWAYS (M) (A M P COLLETT, STGBRN)

21.15 480M LADBROKES PUPPY DERBY 2008 - HEAT 4

1 CARLSBERG FLASH (B SILKMAN, UNATT)
2 COOLAVANNY TRAIN (E T PARKER, SHEFF)
3 WHITEOAK IRIS (A K JENKINS, HALLG)
4 BURNPARK CHAMP (M) (C ALLSOPP, MONMR)
5 TITAN TYRONE (M) (L DOYLE, SHAWF)
6 BLONDE DRUMMER (M) (J G MULLINS, UNATT)

21.30 480M LADBROKES PUPPY DERBY 2008 - HEAT 5

1 CHERRYHILL BOYS (A K JENKINS, HALLG)
2 LOCKDALE DIAMOND (M A WALLIS, WSTOW)
3 BUENO BOY (C S GOMERSALL, SWNDN)
4 DROOPYS THOMAS (M) (K J PRINCE, MONMR)
5 SWIFT JAMES (W) (J G MULLINS, UNATT)
6 UNIQUE PICTURE (W) (K MULLINS, WSTOW)

21.45 480M LADBROKES PUPPY DERBY 2008 - HEAT 6

1 DRIVE ON CAPTAIN (J BATESON, UNATT)
2 ARD ENGINE (P W YOUNG, ROMFD)
3 BALLYMAC KEN (S BAGGS, WSTOW)
4 BLONDE TARA (M) (J G MULLINS, UNATT)
5 BARNFIELD LORETO (M) (S POOTS, UNATT)
6 GOLD WHISPER (M) (E T PARKER, SHEFF)

The latest betting is available here.

Malden Flight was another top rated winner when taking the Queen Mother Memorial Cup at Sheffield. Robbie Hart's son of Droopys Vieri was soon in command and won by two lengths from favourite Head Iton Paddy.

Head Iton Paddy was identified as a potential lay but as Betfair weren't running the market I didn't bet. This has happened a few times recently so I'll do some research into alternative approaches to laying, possibly by backing two or three dogs against the 'lay' dog.

Profit and loss account for February 2008 (bank carried forward from January) -

Profits would've been greater if I'd been able to lay Boherna On Air in the Gorton Cup and Head Iton Paddy in the Queen Mother Memorial but Betfair weren't offering these markets. I may have to investigate the possiblilites of backing the field against a short one I don't fancy but can't lay it.

The Queen Mother Memorial Cup, a six bend event worth £4000, is the centrepiece of a decent looking card at Sheffield this afternoon.

Speed Figs

T3 - Malden Flight 100
T4 - Sabbys Blue 79
T6 - Opening Artist 69
T5 - Head Iton Paddy 68+
T2 - Toosey Boy 59
T1 - Swift Leopard 27

Malden Flight is clear on the ratings and also looks set to lead. Robbie Hart's dog is the selection but I won't be having a bet as his draw in trap three with three other railers in the race puts me off.

It's disappointing that Ladbrokes are the only bookmaker to put up prices for this one. They bet -

15/8 Malden Flight
7/4 Head Iton Paddy
4/1 Opening Artist
6/1 Sabbys Blue
8/1 Toosey Boy
16/1 Swift Leopard

Betfair aren't playing either which is a shame as at those sorts of prices Head Iton Paddy looks a definate lay.

John Mullins' Black Taxi landed another good prize taking the Golden Crest. He came home ahead of Cagey Jeff with Yahoo Commander third.

It was a 1-2-3 for my speed figures and although I would have never placed the bet a trio paid £12.85 to a £1 stake.