Sky Dogs

The Irish Grand National final takes place at Harolds Cross this evening. Track record holder Distant Legend is the hot favourite to land the 12,000 euro first prize for owner/trainer Julie Power.

Speed Figs

T4 - Distant Legend 100
T3 - Priceless Paddy 78
T2 - The Other Outlaw 68
T6 - Billsdad Bill 66
T5 - Woodys Express 61
T1 - Comans Joe 51

Distant Legend is well clear on the figures courtesy of his record breaking performance in the second round. Strong stayer Priceless Paddy is next best though he has twice finished behind The Other Outlaw in this competition. Jason Foster's runners always have to be feared over hurdles but his Comans Joe, who took this last year, is going to have to improve on what he's shown so far.

Skydogs Tissue

Using the speed figures as a starting point and considering the impact of the draw and early pace I've come up with the tissue below -

10/11 Distant Legend, 13/2 Billsdad Bill, 17/2 The Other Outlaw, 9/1 Woodys Express, 10/1 Priceless Paddy, 14/1 Comans Joe

The beautifully bred Distant Legend (by Hondo Black out of Oaks winner Talktothehand) is the obvious favourite but the bookies are giving nothing away at 4/5. Billsdad Bill is well drawn and has decent early pace and is fairly priced at 7/1 but it's difficult to see him troubling the favourite. The Other Outlaw is well boxed with the slowly away Comans Joe and Priceless Paddy either side of him, John Brennan's black dog is a touch overpriced at 10's with Ladbrokes. The biggest price difference between my tissue and the layers concerns Comans Joe. Jason Foster is following in the footsteps of his Dad as a master trainer of hurdlers and his charge took this race last year but he's shown nowhere near that level of form recently. I have him as the outsider of the field at 14/1 but the bookies rate him second best at 9/2. He'd definitely be worth taking on at that sort of price but unfortunately Betfair aren't running a market and the spread firms aren't playing either.

Distant Legend is the obvious selection for the race but offers little in the way of value. There are no specials or spreads being offered on the race so it's difficult to find an angle. If I were to play I'd try some forecast/tricast bets with Distant Legend to win backed up with Priceless Paddy, The Other Outlaw and Billsdad Bill, leaving out the poor value Comans Joe could mean a decent payout.

Apologies for the lack of posts lately, there has been little top class four bend greyhound action for me to blog about. Due up on Sky soon are The All England Cup (12 Nov Newcastle), The Eclipse (20 Nov Nottingham) and The Oaks (16 Dec Wimblesdon) so hopefully I'll have something to say about those.

I'm considering a slight change of direction for the blog, possibly in the New Year when I may try and do something along the lines of Johnny Moyles excellent manaboutdog blog.

In the meantime I'm seriously trying to prove to myself that I can punt properly again and once I feel comfortable I may start to post the results up here.

Cheers

The Irish Derby runner up Slip The Lark bids to go one better tonight in the Laurels at Cork. The action is live on Setanta Sports and it looks set to be a thriller.

Speed Figs

T4 - Slip The Lark 100
T1 - Solinus 99
T5 - Tyrur Laurel 96
T3 - Chicken Supper 90
T2 - Cabra Cool 87
T6 - Cashen Legend 85

Slip The Lark heads the figures after a smart performance in the semi finals. Next best is Solinus who got a flyer from the boxes in the third round and went on to record a smart figure. Classy Tyrur Laurel will be right there in the mix again.

Skydogs Tissue

Using the speed figures as a basis and the likely effects of the draw and pace I've come up with the 'tissue' below -

11/4 Slip The Lark, 3/1 Solinus, 4/1 Tyrur Laurel, 17/2 Cabra Cool, Chicken Supper, 12/1 Cashen Legend

Solinus stands out when comparing the tissue to the bookmaker’s prices with Ladbrokes going 6/1 about Mark Maloney's big black son of Top Honcho. His chance probably lies with him trapping as he did in the third round, if he does he's no 6/1 chance. Slip The Lark is the jolly but a best priced 5/4 with Paddy Power is on the short side. Tyrur Laurel carried my money when fourth in the Derby at Wimbledon. He's likely to push Slip The Lark all the to the first bend but 3/1 isn't big enough to tempt me this time. Of the others Chicken Supper looks overpriced at 16/1 but he was well held by Slip The Lark last week and would do well to reverse the form.

There are no spreads or specials on offer for tonights race which is a shame but Betfair are covering the race so I might try and do a bit of trading around Solinus and possibly Chicken Supper. If I was to play with the traditional layers I'd go for Solinus as a bit of value at 6/1 with perhaps a little each way on Chicken Supper at 16's.

Good luck to all the connections of tonights runners and good luck to you if you have a bet.

The Laurels was over for me (from a financial point of view) within a couple of strides with Prodigious going to sleep in the boxes and Centaur Marine being beaten to the punch by Farley Magic.

Barry Draper landed a one-two with Boherna Best and Farley Magic, his well fancied Boherna On Air never really getting into things.

The winner is only an August 06 whelp with 15 races under his belt so could well go on to add to the nice prize he picked up on Tuesday. He is a lovely looking blue and white son of the sadly deceased Pacific Mile out of Always On Air. The breeding was a repeat mating with the previous litter throwing Barnfield On Air.

Here's a couple of photo's I took of the winner on the night -

It was a pretty miserable night in Manchester weather wise but the racing was good with Bubbly Totti very impressive in taking his prep race for the St Leger. We also had a good chat with the amenable Gary Wiltshire from the Sky team. All in all it was an excellent night and I have no hesitation in recommending a night at "The Zoo".

The Laurels is the main event this week live on Sky Sports 2 this evening. As usual big race time is 9:45pm with coverage of the undercard starting at 7:30pm. I'll be there to see the action in the flesh so to speak and I'm hoping the usual Manchester weather holds off for a change!

Speed Figures

T2 - Prodigious 100
T4 - Boherna Best 99
T1 - Boherna On Air 97
T6 - Centaur Marine 82
T3 - Farley Magic 61
T5 - Cortsway Giants 61

Barry Draper holds a strong hand in the final with three dogs making the decider but its Elaine Parker's Prodigious who heads the figures courtesy of a good performance in the heats. Draper's Boherna Best and well drawn Boherna On Air are next in with this trio clear of the rest.

Skydogs Tissue

Using the speed figures as a basis and adding in the likely pace and draw scenario's I've come up with the 'tissue' below -

5/2 Prodigious, 3/1 Boherna On Air, Boherna Best, 15/2 Centaur Marine, 14/1 Farley Magic, 28/1 Cortsway Giants

Prodigious, a son of the remarkable Top Honcho, looks seriously overpriced at the 6/1 generally available. He's capable of leading this field on the inside with the other likely pace setter, Centaur Marine, out wide, if he does get out he will be difficult to catch. Boherna On Air is the jolly at 11/10 which seems very short on what he's done in this competition. He is however well drawn in the red jacket and if trapping he has the early toe to go with the best of them, its for those reason's I'm not going to be hitting the lay button on Betfair. Boherna Best has to be considered but 3/1 is the top price on offer and that's about his price, he's also going to need some luck in running as I can't see him grabbing the lead in this field. Of the remainder Centaur Marine is quick away and well drawn but 6/1 with the layers is on the tight side. Farley Magic, the third Draper hope, is a dog I couldn't have on my mind at the 8/1 available and Cortsway Giants, a great big son of Fire Height Dan will be out the back early and will probably stay there.

Overall I think Prodigious is the value, I was a little disappointed with the quote of 11-14 on the 50-25-10 market with Bet HiLo but it’s probably there where my cash will go. There are also a couple of interesting match bets available. Corals have Prodigious priced at 5/6 to finish in front of Centaur Marine which is excellent value though I am a little concerned that the six dog may get his nose in front at the first so although its very tempting I'm going to pass on that. I will however support Centaur Marine with Blue Square who have him at 4/5 to finish in front of Farley Magic, something which I make nearer an 8/13 chance.

Good luck to all the connections and to you if you have a bet.