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05th Jan 2012

Michael Fortune’s greyhounds to watch in 2012

The year ahead promises to be a feast of great greyhound racing so who better to tell you which dogs to follow than the voice of the sport, Michael Fortune.

JOE

The year ahead promises to be a feast of great greyhound racing so who better to tell you which dogs to follow than the voice of the sport, Michael Fortune.

A wise man once said before you invest in anything speak to an expert. And if one of your New Year’s resolutions was to make a few quid from the dogs this year, then look no further because we spoke to the man in the know to help you on your way.

Michael is the best known and most respected greyhound writer in the country, as well as the voice of race nights at Shelbourne Park in Dublin.

We spoke to him last month about his lifelong love of the sport and we also asked him what dogs to watch out for in 2012. Here are Michael’s ones top watch this year.

  • Milldean Panther: An obvious choice but the best dog to be seen in years can’t be ignored. Ten wins from 10 races in 2011 propelled him onto a different level and as we found out when we spoke to the team behind the wonder dog last year, Michael expects him to be just as good in 2012. With the Irish Derby the main target, he is expected to be the red-hot favourite for the biggest prize in greyhound racing when it rolls around in September at Shelbourne Park. Catch him if you can at some stage in 2012.
  • Sparta Maestro: Winner of the Puppy Derby last year and expected by Michael to really continue to excite in 2012.
  • Cabra Noel: Trained by Graham Holland, this fast starter suffered a surprise defeat in the semi-final of the Puppy Stakes in December but he has all the tools to be a top class dog and if he is good enough for Michael to keep an eye on, he is good enough for us.
  • Cabra Millie: Another under the tutelage of Graham Holland, Cabra Millie may not be as well known as Cabra Noel but she was very impressive in the early rounds of the Christmas Oaks and caught Michael’s eye.
  • RazlDazl Will: Another famous name in greyhound circles, where lots of dogs get the Razldazl moniker, but Michael advises us that when he steps up from his current distance of 525 to the longer 550, he could be hard to beat.

So, that’s your card marked for the year ahead. All you need to do now is get down to your nearest track and watch out for these names.

Topics:

Greyhounds