ROCKET’S A SHER THING IN CLASSIC SHOWDOWN

CLARES ROCKET (8.56), involved in a Shergarstyle kidnapping saga, can plunder the £175,000 the Star Sports Derby at Towcester tonight.

The Irish superstar is red-hot favourite to win and complete a fairytale comeback from missing dog to champion racer.

They might even make a film about him!

Clares Rocket was tagged the £1m greyhound after becoming victim of a dog-napping ordeal last year which drew comparisons with the IRA kidnap of legendary racehorse Shergar in 1983.

Targeted

Thankfully, Clares Rocket was safely returned a few days later – but not after Ireland’s fastest greyhound made national headlines.

Brought back to fitness by champion trainer Graham Holland, connections of Clares Rocket targeted the English Derby.

The race, first run at London’s White City in 1927 before moving to Wimbledon in 1984, has a new home this year at the Northampton Racecourse owned by the Hesketh family. After breaking the track record in the first ® round, Clares Rocket has run unbeaten through the competition and now heads the six-dog field for greyhound racing’s biggest prize.

His main rival is PJ Fahy’s Tyrur Shay, also trained in Ireland, who broke Clares Rocket’s track record in the second round and has been thrilling racegoers with his last-to-first finishes.

Glory

The scene is now set for a fabulous near-29 seconds race for glory and a new name on the magnificent silver trophy with its 90-year history.

Hiya Butt, third last year, is a leading contender, trained by Hayley Keightley, who bids to become the first lady to train a Derby winner since Dolores Ruth with Shanless Slippy at Wimbledon in 1996.

Seamus Cahill, from Co. Tipperary but now based in Kent, has two finalists in the 500m thriller in the shape of Droopys Acrobat and Astute Missile.

Outsider Murrys Act represents Norfolk-based trainer Kevin Boon, an former football manager at King’s Lynn FC.