Hopes for a first locally-trained winner of the Premier Greyhound Racing Kent Derby in four years this weekend are high with three runners in tonight’s (Saturday) £20,000 feature race trained in the county.

English Greyhound Derby finalist King Memphis and Hunt Cup champion Havana Top Note, trained by Ashford’s Elizabeth and Rab McNair, as well as Open Race winner Atomic Crimes, trained by Harvel’s Tony Collett, have all qualified for Central Park Stadium’s showpiece.

King Memphis caught the eye most when lowering his own track record in semi-final two where he stopped the clock at 28.57sec - an average speed of 38.44mph.

Kennelmate Havana Top Note qualified for his seventh category one final thanks to a late burst of speed in semi-final three, while Collett watched Atomic Crimes finish second in semi-final one.

The competition’s three other finalists - Droopys Manowar, Droopys Display and El Tornillo - are also trained in the south-east by Maxine Locke (Droopys Manowar and Droopys Display) and Dave Lee respectively.

Rab is hopeful of winning a sixth category one title this year, but is equally mindful of the strong competition.

“A lot of people are excited about El Tornillo, and rightly so,” he said. “But I’m not writing off any greyhound in the final - it’s a category one race and they’re all in it for a reason.

“It can be a bit of a guessing game working out how long it will take to get a greyhound to full fitness. Throughout the competition we’ve said King Memphis has more to come, and that’s been the case.

“All the preparation is complete, now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that things fall into place on the night.

“[Havana] Top Note looks at me every day at home and tells me he wants a six-bend race. He’s in great form and he’s finishing his races so strongly right now - he’s a mile clear at the pick-up.

“We’ll look forward to Saturday’s final with him and then maybe give the Gold Collar a go at Crayford next month.”

Trained by Epping-based Lee, El Tornillo is the Premier Greyhound Racing Kent Derby’s only other finalist to have won his heat and semi-final en-route to the £20,000 race.

The two-year-old brindled dog is second-favourite to scoop the top prize - and his trainer believes he stands every chance of finishing in front if he has his trapping boots on.

Lee said: “Planning for these competitions is the easy part - executing that plan is where it gets difficult.

“He’s won at eight different tracks in the UK so he is incredibly versatile and he has been a brilliant greyhound for us.

“It’s a quality final, but if he traps well he should lead the dogs on his inside to the first bend, where we need him to be in front. This is his first category one final which is special to us, we’ve believed in his ability from when he started trialling, so hopefully luck will be on our side.”

Tickets, trackside packages and restaurant bookings for the 2024 Premier Greyhound Racing Kent Derby at Central Park Stadium on Saturday night can be booked, subject to availability, here. Doors open at 5.30pm with the first of 12 races off at 6.37pm. The feature race begins at 9.11pm.