Home hopes will rest with five runners in Saturday’s Semi-Finals of the Arena Racing Company Kent Silver Salver at Central Park.

Trainers Paul Donovan, Daniel Brabon, Mick Mavrias and Barry O’Sullivan are all chasing a place in the Final of the UK’s richest sprint competition, with £12,500 up for grabs on June 15.

Brabon has two chances, with Merrymeeting Lil and Killuran Bella running in the first and third Semi-Final, while Donovan’s Emers Sammy, Mavrias’ Broadway World and O’Sullivan’s Without Justice run in races one, two and three respectively.

However Essex trainer David Mullins will be triple handed when crossing the Thames with Romeo Crusade, Droopys Standard and Romeo Cypher. Having won the Category 1 BGBF British Bred Puppy Cup with Cypher in January, Mullins is positive about his chances of adding to the kennel’s trophy haul.

“We had a super start to the year winning the BGBF British Bred Puppy Cup,” he said.

“It’s been a bit quieter since, but we have some nice youngsters coming through and qualifying three to the Silver Salver semis was a boost.

“I’m hopeful for Romeo Crusade on Saturday. He has a great draw and missed his break in round one which didn’t help but he qualified, which is the main thing. He’s the closest greyhound of the three we’ve qualified to being a proper sprinter.

“Droopys Standard has good form at Central Park, winning two of his three races there. Every greyhound is different, and he prefers to get on with it so the parade can set him back.

“[Romeo] Cypher isn’t your authentic sprinter but we’re using this competition to keep him fit. If the greyhounds in his heat make mistakes, he’ll need no second invitation to take advantage.”

Other greyhounds of note to qualify for Saturday include Irish-trained Hopes Hurricane, who made light work of last Saturday’s final heat when beating Killuran Bella and Romeo Cypher.

Coventry-based trainer Adam Sear’s My Lennie, meanwhile, was the fastest to qualify when winning heat four in 16.29sec – an average speed of 38.03mph. Last year’s finalist, Ballyard Shawny, also progressed by winning heat two.

Tickets are available from £8 at centralpark-greyhounds.co.uk/racing. Doors open at 5.30pm with the first race due off at 6.37pm.

Semi-Final 1: Romeo Crusade, Salthill Sniper, Ballyard Shawny, Emers Sammy, Merrymeeting Lil, Guzzler.
Semi-Final 2: Broadway World, Two Slip Jigs, Droopys Standard, Droopys Rarity, My Lennie, Time To Talk.
Semi-Final 3: Romeo Cypher, Killuran Bella, Cappaneale Rocky, Magical Bluebear, Without Justice, Hopes Hurricane.