Yarmouth takes centre-stage on Wednesday as another huge week for greyhound racing gets into overdrive ahead of a busy weekend.
The Click Competitions 78th East Anglian Greyhound Derby, live on the Premier Greyhound Racing Service, will provide a midweek open-race extravaganza for fans of the sport across the next three Wednesdays - with a gala card at the east coast track on September 18 the seaside venue's biggest night of the year
Six heats of the famous competition take place tonight and ante-post prices are available in what is a wide-open event.
Let's take an individual look at the heats.
Heat one (7.06): A cracking way to kick off the 78th East Anglian Greyhound Derby will see plenty of interest in Lion Heart and Cat Island inside. Both are solid early-paced runners with scope for improvement - the former after just two winning UK starts and the latter being recently back after a layoff. However, avoiding each other will be key and the powerful Gary The Arb will be looking to pounce. He's trialled in well and anything like a handy position makes Belinda Green's Hove raider tough to hold.
Heat two (7.22): The race to the first bend will be key in this second heat of the Yarmouth Derby. Aero Convey is a solid front runner given the chance and could break well from the outside. However, Bombay The Joker posted a fastest-time-of-the-year 27.28sec when winning over C&D last week and a repeat surely does the trick. John Mullins' dog gets a rare chance from the inside slot and, while not the tightest of railers, can use the inside line to best effect - albeit mistakes can be ill-afforded from the get-go.
Heat three (7.39): Heat three will see the likes of Edwards, who ran well in the Derby, and Swift Depot, a powerful six-bend winner, have their share of support. The former will look to cut loose off the back of smart trials and might get away, while the latter shone at Monmore in the Summer Classic and was a touch unlucky not to make the final. That said, Millbank Boiler has lots of speed and, while no match for March On Freddie at Nottingham (who was?), showed serious pace himself and looks interestingly draw inside.
Heat four (7.56): Antigua Eagle tops a few of the ante-post lists for the 78th East Anglian Greyhound Derby and will look to stamp his authority on this fourth heat of the event. Well known as a brilliant competition dog here and in Ireland when known as Omuircheataigh, Kevin Hutton's relatively recent intake starred in the Ladbrokes Gold Cup when only the brilliant Churchfield Syd beat him. Dangers in this heat are plentiful, however, with Romeo Steel the best of the rest potentially having sluiced round in a recent trial.
Heat five (8.13): Littermates run here in the shape of Druids Say Go and Druids All Go with preference for the former given an ace draw inside which can see her roar into the bend and take command of this contest quickly - well, that is the plan! A 27.70sec warm-up trial caught the eye, as does a rapid-fire recent win at Romford (23.78sec). Wrighty picks up well and, a good competition greyhound, will not be giving up in behind and gets the vote to chase home Patrick Janssens' runner who gets a rare chance from the red jacket.
Heat six (8.31): The final heat of the six could be interesting. Newcastle's Bramble Linton has pace but handling the first bend will be key to his chances and, in any case, the Patrick Janssens-trained Droopys Doughnut might have escaped the pack. He's one of the fastest dogs around, although can be hit or miss at lid-rise. However, a smooth start makes the six-box tough to hold into the turn and onwards. Acejukeboxpepper won well over C&D last week and could pick up any pieces if they do crowd around him.
