The 2025 Greyhound Derby sponsored by Star Sports/TRC, took place during May and June 2025, with the final being held on 14 June 2025 at Towcester Greyhound Stadium.
Droopys Plunge won the Derby for trainer Patrick Janssens. The black dog was a surprise 10/1 shot and foiled Irish Derby champion Bockos Diamond from winning a dual Derby and De Lahdedah from retaining his Derby title. The greyhound was owned by The-three-tall-men-syndicate and bred by Sean Dunphy. The winner received £175,000.
Format and ante-post betting It was the seventh time that the event was held at Towcester after previously being run there in 2017 to 2018 and 2021 to 2024. The dates of the competition were - first round 8, 9 & 10 May, second round 16 & 17 May, third round 24 May, quarter finals 31 May, semi-finals 7 June. A series of trial stakes were held as usual before the event.
A total number of 179 entries were received. In the early ante-post betting, Bockos Diamond, the impressive Irish Derby champion was a very short 4/1 favourite, followed by a group behind containing March on Freddie 12/1, Proper Heiress 12/1, Bombay Pat 14/1 and Wicky Ned 16/1. Two greyhounds that were expected to go well were defending champion De Lahdedah 33/1 and dual Derby finalist Boylesports Bob 40/1. King Memphis, who was unfortunate in the 2024 campaign was not entered due to injury.
Quarter finals
Heat 1 (31 May, £1,000)PosNameSP Time1st Cheap Sandwiches 8/11f 28.672nd Droopys Bookem 8/1 28.783rd Sole Mio 3/1 28.864th March On Freddie 12/1 29.005thSingalong Molly 8/1 29.496th Droopys Aladdin 18/1 29.67
Heat 2 (31 May, £1,000)PosNameSP Time1st De Lahdedah 8/15f 28.812nd Churchfield Syd 5/1 28.823rd No Better Feelin 28/1 28.924th Romeo Empire 8/1 28.965th Tiffield Tarquin 7/1 29.026th Hello Diego 10/1 29.16
Heat 3 (31 May, £1,000)PosNameSP Time1stDynamic Force 3/1 28.662ndBombay Pat 6/5f 28.873rdPrince Naseem 8/1 29.094th Faypoint Harvey 9/4 29.235th One Slick Jamie 40/1 29.316th Newinn Benni 25/1 29.38
Heat 4 (31 May, £1,000)PosNameSP Time1st Slick Sentinel 14/1 28.872nd Droopys Plunge 6/1 28.883rd Bockos Diamond 8/13f 28.894thKeefil Maverick 28/1 29.215thDroopys Trade 7/1 29.306th Bubbly Charger 4/1 29.44
Semi finals
First Semi-final (7 June, £2,500)PosName of Greyhound SP Time Trainer 1st De Lahdedah 5/2f 28.62 Dowling 2nd Sole Mio 11/4 28.67 Cronin 3rd Bombay Pat 9/2 28.94 Holland4th Droopys Bookem 7/1 29.00 Heilbron 5th Slick Sentinel 7/1 29.04 Janssens 6th Churchfield Syd 4/1 29.31 Rees
Second Semi-final (7 June, £2,500)PosName of Greyhound SP Time Trainer1st Bockos Diamond 6/4f 28.51 Holland2nd Cheap Sandwiches 5/2 28.65 Holland 3rd Droopys Plunge 6/1 28.97 Janssens 4thNo Better Feelin 33/1 29.28 Driver5th Prince Naseem 25/1 29.37 Locke 6th Dynamic Force 5/2 00.00 Hennessy
Competition review First round
Fastest on night one was Graham Holland's Val Tashadelek in 28.81, while kennelmate and competition favourite Bockos Diamond won in a moderate 29.23 and Wicky Ned was eliminated atter falling. Night two saw champion De Lahdedah record a fast 28.50 success, while March on Freddie had to settle for second place behind Sole Mio. The final heats resulted in Irish domination with Lennies Desire recording 28.58, Ballinabola Joe 28.62 and Droopys Plunge 28.64.
Second round
Ballinabola Joe defeated De Lahdedah in heat2, March on Freddie returned to winning ways but Proper Heiress was a shock elimination. During the second night of heats Bombay Pat came good with a 28.53 win and then Bockos Diamond won in 28.51 to reassure ante-post backers and remain competition favourite.
Third round
Three greyhounds remained unbeaten after the third round. They were Bockos Diamond, Sole Mio and Droopys Trade. De Lahdedah won his heat and despite being defending champion had been 33/1 antepost. Trainers Patrick Janssens and Graham Holland each steered four through to the quarter finals. Janssens had two winners with Slick Sentinel and Droopys Trade but the other five races went to the Irish, with the other heat going to the Welsh with Mike Burton's Droopys Aladdin.
Quarter finals
Cheap Sandwiches won a very tough first heat on a fast track recording 28.67. Holland's black dog was followed home by Droopys Bookem and the previously unbeaten Sole Mio. March on Freddie, Singalong Molly and Droopys Aladdin were all eliminated. Next up was champion De Lahdedah and he won again after catching leader Churcfield Syd on the line, with outsider No Better Feelin taking third. The third qualifier went to Dynamic Force in 28.66 with Bombay Pat and Prince Nassem taking the places. The final heat resulted in a blanket finish with a three-way photo finish between Slick Sentinel, Droopys Plunge and Bockos Diamond. The decision went to the former and with it Bockos Diamond lost his unbeaten record.
Semi finals
After the completion of semi-finals the possibility that history could be written was still a possibility because defending champion De Lahdedah and wonder dog Bockos Diamond won their respective races. De Lahdedah caught long time leader Sole Mio in the first heat, with Bombay Pat third. Bockos Diamond defeated kennelmate Cheap Sandwiches in heat two, with the only British qualifier Droopys Plunge taking third.
Final result At Towcester (over 500 metres): 14 June, Winner £175,000 PosName of GreyhoundBreedingTrapSectionalRace commentSPTime (sec)Trainer1st Droopys Plunge Droopys Sydney - Droopys Sweet 1 4.03Rls,QAw,FinWell,LdRnIn 10/1 28.76 Patrick Janssens2nd Bockos DiamondDorotas Wildcat - Seaglass Shadow 64.05 MidTW,EP,Led3ToRnIn 11/10 28.89 Graham Holland3rd De Lahdedah Lenson Bocko - Ballymac Sarahjo 3 4.07RlsTMid,Crd1,FinWell 4/1 28.90Liam Dowling4th Cheap SandwichesBurgess Bucks - Hearthill Josie 54.08 Wide,EP 5/1 28.91 Graham Holland 5th Sole MioCoolavanny Hoffa - Palermo 2 4.09 RlsTMid,SAw,Crd1 6/1 28.92Peter Cronin6th Bombay PatPestana - Clear Mountain 44.05 MidTW,EP,Led1To3 20/1 28.98 Graham Holland
Final distances 1½, short head, short head, short head, ½ (lengths) 0.08 sec = one length
Final report Droopys Plunge running from trap 1 for the first time in the competition took advantage of the draw and finished strongly and unhindered on the rails to catch the pack and take the lead on the run-in. The hot favourite Bockos Diamond was unable to shake off kennelmate Bombay Pat as the pair led for most of the race and this arguably led to the opportunity for Droopys Plunge to catch them. Cheap Sandwiches was also prominent throughout, while De Lahdedah's chances were ended when Sole Mio took the inside line from him at the first bend. All six runners finished together in one of the closest race finishes in recent times, with one length between 2nd and 6th place.
See also 2025 in UK and Ireland greyhound racing
References