Greyhound Racing – Dazzle Looks Something Special

I must admit, I’m not a great fan in general of greyhound racing. I think I’ll always associate the sport with boring winter afternoons in the betting shop when all of the horse racing had been abandoned. However, it’s also fair to say that ‘a night at the dogs’ is an entirely more pleasant experience, especially when in hailing distance of a free bar, so I can understand how some greyhound tracks are still packing in the punters. One of those is Crayford, where the three semi-finals of the Ladbrokes Golden Jacket takes place this weekend. Six dogs will then progress to a final in March for one of the sport’s most coveted prizes but greyhound enthusiasts are still debating the performance of current favourite Dazzle Special in the heats. Theresa Hunwick‘s bitch didn’t win her heat, she was beaten more than two lengths by Group Skater, but few who witnessed the race will believe that the Irish raider can come out on top again should the pair meet in the final. The only luck Dazzle Special had in running in her heat was bad luck. Crowded out and almost brought to a standstill at the first bend, she then cannoned into the rails approaching the end of the first circuit to trail the leaders by a massive margin. However, the bitch metaphorically flew around the final lap to pick off her rivals one-by-one, eventually pipping the trail-blazing Bodell Clare to grab second spot and confirm her progress. Relative fortune does tend to even itself out over time and it’s hard to envisage Dazzle Special having so much bad luck in a race again so soon and she may still be worth backing to capture the Golden Jacket itself next month, despite the bookmakers having taken note of her extraordinary first round performance. She is currently a best 5-2 while old rival Group Skater can be backed at a general 4-1. Hello Hippy, Group Skater‘s stablemate is an 18-1 chance with Skybet. The other one for money has been Danbury Dodger, who recorded the fastest time in the heats and is well drawn to make all in his semi-final for which he is a general 4-5. The Crayford specialist is a general 9-2 to go on to success in the final.