Irish Greyhound Derby 2013 Betting: Slippery Robert the Shelbourne Value

The Irish Greyhound Derby takes place at Shelbourne Park on Saturday evening, and there will be the unusual sight of only five runners entering the traps due to an injury to Kereight King.

Pat Curtin's Kereight King was drawn to race out of trap four, but has suffered a broken toe following his semi-final run last weekend.

According to a piece in the Racing Post by Michael Fortune, Curtin revealed that the vet who treated his dog claimed it was the worst injury of its type he had seen in 50 years of greyhound racing.

Having finished third in his semi-final, Kereight King was not seen as one of the favourites, and his absence has not had a huge impact on the betting.

At the head of the market, the bookmakers are finding it hard to split Ballymac Vic and Tyrur Sugar Ray.

Leading Irish bookmaker Paddy Power quote the pair as 7/4 joint favourites, which makes for an intriguing battle.

Both are inside runners and the outcome of the race could rest on who is sharpest out of the traps. Ballymac Vic will start in trap one and Tyrur Sugar Ray will come out of box two.

Ballymac Vic was an injury doubt, as reported by Fortune of the Racing Post, but his trainer Liam Dowling says the dog is responding well to the cut on his paw.

"

@RPGreyhounds  Ballymac Vic has to be a doubt for me....didn't look 100% sound after his heat last nite.....Sugar Ray's Derby to lose imo

— the curragh spy (@thecurraghspy) September 8, 2013"

As Fortune confirmed, the injury occurred last month and has not hampered Ballymac Vic’s progress to the final.

Tyrur Sugar Ray will be bidding to go four places better than the race 12 months ago, and will have his supporters due to the injury concerns about the favourite.

While much of the focus is on the inside traps, there is potential value in the six box—occupied by Slippery Robert.

Paddy Power priced Slippery Robert at 9/2. If he can clear Cabra Buck on his immediate left—which will be no easy task as that dog clocked the fastest time in the semi-finals—then he could pose a big threat.

Carrowgarriff is the rank outsider at 33/1 and the big favourites will hope she does not cause any havoc from trap three.