HELLO DIEGO ROMPS TO VICTORY IN LEGER SEMIS, TREATY STILL ON TRACK FOR THREE-IN-A-ROW
Peter Farrell
While Clonbrien Treaty went one step closer to an historic three-in-a-row in the semi finals of the Callaway Pro Am @ Stud Irish St. Leger at Limerick on Saturday night, Hello Diego was the show-stopper as Paul Hennessy’s charge romped to victory.
The 2025 renewal has certainly been a case of quality over quantity and greyhound enthusiasts up and down the Country are set to be gripped by what promises to be a thrilling and intriguing final in six days time. Indeed, while a lot of the headlines have rightly gone to Clonbrien Treaty throughout the classic as he bids to seal an historic third Leger title, Hello Diego has proved a revelation in this event and he maintained his unbeaten record at Limerick with another exceptional performance to go quickest in last night’s semi finals.
Owned by Paul Hynes and trained by Paul Hennessy, who is chasing an incredible fifth Leger title, Hello Diego has relished his Munster surroundings in recent weeks and he was chasing a third straight victory in the second semi final. Installed at odds of 13/8, in truth there was never any doubt surrounding the victory once ‘Diego’ pinged from trap five to post a smart 2.80 sectional. In doing so, the writing was already on the wall for his rivals given his superb pace from the halfway mark. Briefly joined by Cagey Billy as the pair rounded the opening corner, Hello Diego got to work passing the sprint boxes and he was in full throttle midway down the back as he increased his lead to three parts of a length. In behind at this point was Cagey Billy, however, Blastoff Heffo was showing all sorts of back straight pace to emerge as the most likely candidate to chase home Hello Diego. At this point, the son of Jaytee Yankee was very much in his comfort zone as he revved his engine to go two clear around the penultimate bend and Blastoff Heffo hit the turn at exactly the right time to nudge his rivals aside and go a clear second. The battle was on for the final qualifying position in third as Cagey Billy and Droopys Deploy went toe-to-toe, however, there was certainly no disputing the winner as Hello Diego drew clear to win by an extending five lengths. Blastoff Heffo ran a serious race to ensure Philip Buckley will be represented in the final, while Cagey Billy showed all of his battling qualities to advance in third. The time was a blistering 29.49.
TREATY ON TRACK
Clonbrien Treaty showed signs of a return to his very best in the quarter finals and although he didn’t match his clock on this occasion, he was equally as impressive to recover from a tardy start in the opening semi.
Trained by Graham Holland for Jim and Muireann Murphy, we have run out of superlatives to describe Clonbrien Treaty in recent years and his quarter final performance was outstanding considering his time away from the track in recent months. As a result, he was installed as the 6/5 jolly in the opening semi final and he was to comfortably reward followers for their market support in the end. Much was made of his trap four draw coming into this contest and those doubts looked to have some context early doors as he walked from his middle berth to occupy the rear at traprise. However, within the blink of an eye, the son of Pestana was on terms after two strides and he showcased his wonderful early speed to storm between both Flight Club and Drombeg Banner on the run-up. In doing so, the multiple-classic winning blue hit the front rounding the opening bend and he held a narrow advantage over ‘Banner’ entering the back straight. Quickly outpacing his rival off the second bend, Clonbrien Treaty manufactured a two and a half length advantage over Drombeg Banner and Flight Club was making steady progress in third as he aimed to ensure Paul Hennessy would be doubly represented in the decider. At this point, barring incident, the first three were already assured of their qualification as there was a big gap back to the remaining semi finalists. With Clonbrien Treaty continuing to set a scorching gallop out in front, his stamina has improved with every outing and he powered his way up the Limerick hill to seal a nineteenth career victory. Flight Club finished at speed to finish three and a half lengths back in second, while Evan McAuliffe will again be in the mix in the final as Drombeg Banner finished third. The time was 29.68.
The trap draw for the final of the Callaway Pro Am @ Stud Irish St. Leger, sponsored by Denis Murphy, was made shortly after and is as follows :
T1 - BLASTOFF HEFFO
T2 - DROMBEG BANNER
T3 - CAGEY BILLY (M)
T4 - CLONBRIEN TREATY (W)
T5 - HELLO DIEGO (W)
T6 - FLIGHT CLUB (W)
*****
TOMORROW QUICKEST IN LIMERICK & CLARE GOBA STAKE
Elsewhere on the card, the semi finals of the Limerick & Clare GOBA A1 525 served as the supporting act and Toolate Tomorrow set the standard as he produced a big finishing kick to score for owner Kieran O’Dwyer.
This greyhound was eliminated in round two of the St. Leger and he looked to be staring in the face of defeat once again as he trailed the field from trap five early on. Gulleen Ina held all the aces at this point, however, Toolate Tomorrow (9/2) showed a burst of pace to go second entering the back, before again breezing past runners to improve into second at the third bend. Now in full throttle, son of Ballyhimikin Jet - Tory Aria hit the afterburners to storm into the ascendancy and he put four and a half lengths between himself and Gulleen Ina passing the line. A very impressive performance from this blue-brindle, the time was 28.59.
In the opening semi final, Tally Ho Rose made it four career wins for the Walls-Of-Tally-Ho-Syndicate as made every inch of running to score.
Fast away to post a 1.25 sectional, Tally Ho Rose made the most of a plumb draw on the fence to show the superior early gears and take a commanding lead into the back. Five lengths clear of Rallyingairfield at this point, the daughter of Ballymac Cashout - Tallyho Hope stuck to her task well as she crossed the line one length clear of the advancing ‘Airfield’ in second. The time for the 11/2 chance was 28.59.