MARCH ON FREDDIE (8.32) is the UK's sole remaining challenger for the BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby and can book his place in next week's quarter-finals when he lines up in heat four of the third round of the €125,000-to-the-winner Irish Classic tonight.
David Mullins's enterprising bid for canine immortality has, so far, gone well with the brilliant George Watson-owned Nottingham Puppy Classic winner.
A runaway winner of his first round heat, he perhaps dodged a bullet in the second round when an unpromising position down the back saw him face the threat of elimination until things opened up, albeit his class and pace - he has bundles of that - were well needed.
On paper, tonight looks more straightforward and a fast start from his favoured outside draw should see the Romford raider get first run and he can hold the finish of six-bend champion Tuono Charlie for victory, albeit qualification remains the name of the game!
Bockos Diamond (7.48), March On Freddie's litter brother, has topped the betting for outright glory from the get-go and is tough to oppose in the opening heat for champion trainer Graham Holland having done nothing wrong up to now.
Incidentally Brindle Bully, another litter brother of March On Freddie and Bockos Diamond, won at Sunderland on Friday in his heat of the PGR Classic.
Other Shelbourne fancies are Liam Dowling's reigning English Derby champion De Lahdedah (8.03), who was back on the winning trail last week, Graham Holland's well-drawn Untold Dollar (8.18) and Pat Buckley's red-boxed Singalong Dolly (8.48).
The Shelbourne Park action is live on SIS.
Back in the UK and Oxford stages an open-race card today - a matinee fixture - with a host of quality contests and some likely clashes, not least in the sprint.
Adam Sear's My Lennie (11.54) catches the eye in the two-bend contest having run well in the Scurry Gold Cup at Perry Barr and can prove too much for Mustang Ojay, while Kevin Hutton's Highfield Andy (12.46) looks well pitched in division three of the standard,
Other picks are Michelle Brown's well-drawn Romford Champion Stakes third Golden Palace (1.03) who steps up again in distance over 650m and Kevin Hutton's Rioja Maxi (1.37), who looks due a better start in division one of the four-bend events.
Monmore is also on the open-race trial tonight with a host of qualify contests with the feature event being the Ladbrokes 630 Maiden Final - Chris Fereday's No Better Feelin (8.47) gets the vote to make the most of a decent make-up in the six-bend decider.
Other votes at the Wolverhampton venue go to Mark Wallis's Ballymac John (6.48), Gemma Evans' Millbank Boiler (7.22), Patrick Janssens' Crossfield Enzo (7.56), Kim Billingham-Hine's Magical Luna (9.23) and Brian Thompson's Knock Beeswing (9.39).
*TOWCESTER is staging a Night of Stars-type gala card on Saturday, December 21, with the feature event being the £10,000 Bet365 Puppy Oaks Final.
The Category One event has been brought forward by 24 hours from its original Sunday slot and will now be the feature contest of the 'Christmas Bonanza' which will see all races - both opens and kennel sweepstakes finals - sponsored with increased one-off prizes.
