DIAMOND TRIAL CONFIRMED

Ian Fortune

In truth there was a little bit of guess work, allied with a little bit of inside information, when we yesterday suggested that Bockos Diamond would be trialling at Towcester on Sunday in advance of an English Derby challenge.

Well, that news was confirmed later in the day. The 2024 Derby champion will trial over the 270m sprint trip at Towcester and it will be of huge interest. We have it on good authority that his recent trials have been pretty spectacular and, given his prior knowledge of Towcester, he could go very fast indeed.

It will also be interesting to see how he handles the traps at the venue. They have been replaced since last year and are now more like the Irish ones that Bockos Diamond is so effective from.

He won’t be on his own on Sunday.

His kennel companions Garfiney Warrior (500m) and Shotgun Dez (500m) are also pencilled in to trial. The latter flew around Towcester last week, clocking 15.48.

Graham Holland will also have runners in the various Derby Trial Stakes on the day with Gaytime Clyde, Low Profile and Slippery Brian in action, while Swords Style is expected to go close in the TIME Greyhound Nutrition Juvenile - the feature race on the card.