TREATY AND DAZZLER TO SERVE UP A SPECTACLE IN ST. LEGER SEMIS
Peter Farrell
It’s crunch time at Limerick later tonight as the semi finals of the Willwego.com Irish St. Leger take centre stage and connections will all be hoping to secure one of those all-important qualification spots ahead next week’s €30,000 Classic decider.
The quarter finals produced some thrilling performances and the star of the show was without doubt the reigning Con & Annie Kirby champ Knockeen Dazzler.
Daniel O’Rahilly’s star tracker bounced back from his second round defeat in emphatic fashion as his stunning early speed proved decisive in romping to a comfortable 29.49 success. On that occasion, O’Rahilly’s charge displayed awesome acceleration from traps and the son of Laughil Blake will require a similar performance tonight as he is pencilled in alongside the defending champ Clonbrien Treaty. Two of the most naturally gifted early paced greyhounds in the game, Knockeen Dazzler and Clonbrien Treaty are both hugely blessed in that department and it goes without saying that the break will prove crucial in their bids to advance to the decider in seven days’ time. Indeed, it will make for fascinating viewing on the run-up, however, the narrow vote goes to Knockeen Dazzler based on his imperious performance last time out. His 2.76 sectional was simply sensational and now looks cherry-ripe in his bid for a Kirby-Leger double, something achieved just one-year prior by his most dangerous foe on this occasion, Clonbrien Treaty. That said, it would be unwise to dismiss Graham Holland’s tracker despite being drawn in five and it would be an incredible spectacle to see who would come out on top in the event that both trackers trap on level terms.
Although the majority of eyes will be on the outside duo, the opening semi is far from a two-dog affair with the likes of Jaytee Craze and Barefoot On Fire in traps one and two respectively. Both hailing from the in-form Paul Hennessy kennel, the latter is in terrific form and he chased down Clonbrien Treaty last weekend when railing tightly to emerge a three parts of a length winner. Drawn in blue, ‘Barefoot’ should have the measure of Jaytee Craze early on and he looks the value bet in the semi given he will be finishing strongly to boot. Jaytee Craze, meanwhile, remains a huge player. Now firmly established as one of the best in the land, the son of Ballymac Cashout was brilliant in reeling in Barefoot On Fire in round two and followed that up with a fine display last weekend to qualify after shipping a bump. Drawn in one, ‘Craze’ will need to hold on to the coattails early on given the abundance of early speed in the contest, however, he will be finishing best of all and has no forlorn hope of getting back to winning ways. The remaining runners are Kilcolgan Whitney and Extra Gain, both of which have never competed against this calibre of tracker before. Smart greyhounds in their own right, it is difficult to make a case for qualification for either, however, they have performed admirably thus far and Extra Gain in particular, could be one for the trio punters given his strong running abilities.
KING CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF REX’S ABSENCE
The unfortunate news broke on Friday morning that Ballyhimikin Rex will be a non-runner in the second semi final and that leaves the contest wide-open as a five dog affair.
Ballyhimikin Rex was the likely favourite heading into this semi final, however, in his absence that leaves the door open for Miami King, who will now have a vacant trap on his immediate inside. Trained by Garry Dempsey, the son of Ballymac Vic was just as impressive in defeat as he was in victory one-week prior and his trap draw in four is now not as difficult as first appeared given the vacant trap in three. On raw ability, Miami King tops the bill and he will not be short on support when he lines out later tonight. In Good Time will also have plenty of followers. Trained by Brendan Maunsell, this tracker seems to always go under the radar and perhaps doesn't receive the respect he deserves given he is a track record holder around Tralee, a Produce Stakes runner-up and a Kirby semi finalist. A real competition dog, the son of Droopys Sydney will not be phased by his trap five draw and he could prove the fly in the ointment for many in the second semi tonight. His outside rival is the early-paced Hazelhill Bucko and there would be a none more popular qualifier than that of the Lucy Roche-trained star. Drawn in six, the son of Dromana Bucko must dictate from the outset, however, that is very likely given his performance seven days ago when making-all to post 29.65. That leaves the inside pairing of Coolavanny Otto and Ventry Faith. There is no doubt that we haven’t seen the best of ‘Otto’ in this Classic, however, he remains in the final twelve and certainly performed better last weekend when closing the gap rapidly on Knockeen Dazzler in the closing stages. On that basis, he looks to be coming back to form and his draw can only be of benefit, especially given Ventry Faith wouldn’t be the most fluent from traps. The aforementioned tracker, trained by Owen McKenna has stunning speed, however, was a little disappointing for me in last week’s quarter finals. That said, he has just turned two years-of-age and tonight he will step-out for just the tenth time in his career. As a result, he has the scope to improve and given he has already posted 29.55, that is ominous for his rivals.
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CON MURPHY BOOKMAKERS A1 525
After a top-class opening round, the second round heats of the Con Murphy Bookmakers A1 525 also feature as the supporting act and Jebel Ali Paddy looks a safe bet to build on his fastest opening round display.
Trained by Lucy Roche for the Hi-From-Dubai-Synd, Jebel Ali Paddy posted a red-hot 28.42 last time out and the son of Magical Bale has really developed into a brilliant tracker in the past few months. Quickly into stride to clock a rapid 1.24 sectional in the opening round, anything close to that should be enough to dictate once again and this being the case, it will be a case of good night Irene as a contest. Of his rivals, Starson Katie was a fine second last weekend and still has scope for much improvement, while Sing Hallelujah was also eye-catching in defeat and is well housed in trap one to run a big race.
One of the battles of the night could come in heat two as Mrbluewood goes head-to-head with Carrigmore Freya, who both recorded impressive wins in round one. Trained by Gerry Holian, Mrbluewood does get the nod however, based purely on his likelihood to lead the contest. Rocketing from traps last time out, the son of Airmount Nando has one and a half lengths in hand over ‘Freya’ in that respect and although she may be finishing faster, Holian’s charge could steal a march.
The opening heat is very open with the likes of Ballymac Murty, Barefoot Awesome and Tyrap Magic all involved. The trio were on successful in landing their opening round assignments and there wasn’t too much to separate them on the clock. That said, the narrow vote goes to Barefoot Awesome based on a smart draw in two, inside of both his main rivals. A fast start is required, however, the son of Good Cody knows how to win and can maintain his unbeaten run in this valuable stake. Starson Frankie is another to keep an eye on after a fine second behind Mrbluewood last weekend.
In the final heat of the night, Hand Shake gets the nod to make it back-to-back wins for Mary Clarke in one. A trap-to-line winner in 28.63 last Saturday, the son of Droopys Sydney has a fine record of three wins from seven and crucially has the sectionals to build up ahead of steam in this contest. Of his rivals, the John Byrne duo of Grouchos Finn and Grouchos Snoopy have good gears and are both more than capable of landing the spoils, while Cooneen Mazl is a strong-runner and will look to go one better than her narrow neck defeat to Barefoot Awesome in round one.