WHILE the horse-racing world turns its attention to Epsom, Britain's greyhound racing fans will spend this afternoon salivating at the prospect of their own Derby.

This evening, Wimbledon plays host to the final of the William Hill Greyhound Derby, a race that was first held in 1927 and which has subsequently charted the sport's fluctuating fortunes.

Tonight's £100,000 first-prize purse provides further evidence of greyhound racing's resurgent appeal and, while the Wimbledon crowd will not match the 55,000 who flocked to White City to watch the legendary Mick The Miller claim his second Derby victory in 1930, British attendances topped the four million mark last year.

For the sport's many supporters, tonight's feature event will identify a worthy successor to Mick The Miller's crown.

And, for North-Easterner Graham Calvert Junior, it could prove to be the race that transforms his life.

Calvert, who is responsible for 85 dogs at his Houghton-le-Spring kennels and is affiliated to Sunderland Greyhound Stadium, trains Amarillo Slim, the second-favourite for this evening's six-dog showdown.

If the two-year-old can earn him a first Derby triumph, one of the country's most promising young trainers will become one of Britain's most celebrated.

"This has always been my dream," said Calvert, who was introduced to greyhound racing by his father, Graham Senior, who is now training in Ireland. "Ever since I started out in the sport, I've always wanted to get a run in the Derby like this one.

"You can think you've got a dog capable of doing well in it, and I always knew this one was fast enough.

"But there are so many unknown factors that come into play. You need a dog that's able to handle the track and you always need a bit of luck in running.

"Thankfully, we've had that and we'll go into the final with high hopes. It's going to be his third run in the last seven days, but it's the same for all the dogs so we'll be going in to take our chance."

Simply making it to the final has been quite an achievement for a dog that was available at odds of 80-1 when one brave punter placed a £1,200 each-way stake before the start of this year's Derby.

More than 170 dogs entered the competition at the first-round stage but, while others might have overlooked Amarillo Slim's chances, Calvert was always convinced he was capable of an extended run to the final.

The North-Easterner shelled out £12,000 to buy the dog after watching him win a leading puppy race at Sheffield last year, with the sole intention of aiming him at this year's Derby.

"The Derby was always going to be the aim," he confirmed. "It was obvious straight away that he had the pace to do well.

"It was just a case of bringing him on gradually and making sure he was able to build to a peak at the right time.

"I look after a lot of dogs and you can't afford to neglect any of them, but this fella has always been the one we've devoted ourselves to. Hopefully, all of that will come to a climax this evening."

To claim greyhound racing's biggest prize, though, Amarillo Slim will have to overcome Westmead Hawk, the odds-on favourite for this evening's final.

'The Hawk', who relies on a flying finish to make up for his notoriously slow starts, was the winner of last year's Derby and most experts are expecting him to complete a back-to-back triumph tonight.

Calvert accepts that the favourite, who is drawn on the inside of Amarillo Slim in trap four, is the dog to beat.

But after watching Fear Me edge out Westmead Hawk in a thrilling Scottish Derby final earlier this year, he senses the reigning champion is vulnerable.

"Everyone has been talking about Westmead Hawk and, on the evidence of the previous rounds, you'd have to say he was a worthy favourite," said Calvert.

"But you don't get to the final of the Derby unless you're a special greyhound, and you could make a case for every dog in the race.

"Mineola Farloe and Westmead Joe have done nothing wrong to this stage as well and I obviously think my dog has a fighting chance otherwise there wouldn't be any point in us being here.

"It's been a good season for greyhound racing in the North-East so far - the tracks are going from strength to strength - hopefully we can make it even better."

WILLIAM DERBY FINAL (Wimbledon, 9.45pm): 1. Cleenas Lady; 2. Mineola Farloe; 3. Westmead Joe; 4. Westmead Hawk; 5. Amarillo Slim; 6. Clash Darby.