December 2022

DECEMBER 2022

IRGT DOGS & THEIR TALES PODCAST SALLYANNE TONG

GRI

Rory speaks to proud retired greyhound owner, Sallyanne Tong. Sallyanne, Ken and their two teenage sons had previously had two miniature Daschunds, the second had passed away at the age of 15 and they thought that was the last dog in their family but. during Covid, they made the decision to welcome another dog.

VIDEO: 2022 WINTER RACING FESTIVAL NIGHT 1

GRI

Join Ian Fortune now to look back on the action from the opening night of the festival on Thursday, including the big Final of the night, the 2022 Dublin Cup won by Cheque for Sir.

A SPECIAL NIGHT AT SHELBOURNE AS FESTIVAL DELIVERS IN SPADES

Ian Fortune

The Irish greyhound racing year came to the most incredible conclusion on Friday as the second night of the RCÉ Winter Racing Festival provided some of the most incredible performances of what was a stunning twelve months on the track.

COLM DERVAN

Colm passed away peacefully at the Galway Hospice surrounded by his loving family.

STRONG ALL ROUND PERFORMANCE FROM FOOTFIELD SIREN IN CURRAHEEN FEATURE

Barry Drake

Friday night's racing at Curraheen Park featured the final of the €1,350 to the winner Irish Retired Greyhound Trust A2/A3 and it went the way of the Johnny Linehan-trained Footfield Siren.

CHEQUE TAKES CUP AS FESTIVAL KICKS OFF IN STYLE

Ian Fortune

The RCÉ Winter Racing Festival got off to a flier at Shelbourne Park on Thursday night with thirteen wonderfully competitive races, numerous impressive scorers and a superb display from Cheque For Sir to capture the feature, the final of the 2022 Dublin Cup.

FESTIVE TALES FROM THE YELLOW CHAIR: THERESA AND FRIDA

GRI

Our Yellow Chair travelled to Tralee to meet Theresa and Frida

FERGIE ROCKETS TO MCKENNA MEMORIAL SUCCESS AT GALWAY

Peter Farrell

The final of the Paul McKenna Memorial A3/A4 575 brought the curtain down on racing at Galway for 2022 and the €1,500 decider went the way of Rocket Fergie, handled by leading trainer at the track, Stephen Murray.

GREMLINS STRIKE AGAIN AT TOWCESTER AS COORDINATION PROGRESSES

Ian Fortune

When Lemony Snicket titled his well-known children’s book “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, one could be forgiven for thinking he was referring to the December schedule in Towcester.

VIDEO: 2022 SHELBOURNE CHRISTMAS OAKS FINAL

GRI

Join Ian Fortune now to look back on Maries Wedding's trap to line victory for owner Tamara Butler in the Christmas Oaks Final in Shelbourne Park on Friday night.

COLLEGE PARADISE AND SLIABH LIAG - YOUR WINTER RACING FESTIVAL MEMORIES

GRI

As the countdown continues to the 2022 Winter Racing Festival in Shelbourne Park, Ian takes us on another trip down memory lane with your nominated highlights from 2016 and 2019.

WHITE SOKS ROKS AND DARBYS DELIGHT - YOUR WINTER RACING FESTIVAL MEMORIES

GRI

Join Ian Fortune now to look back on some of your favourite Night of Stars and Winter Racing Festival Memories - two brilliant 750 performances now, White Soks Roks in 2012 and Darbys Delight last year.

FESTIVE TALES FROM THE YELLOW CHAIR: CHRIS & GOLD

GRI

Our Yellow Chair has set up this time in Curraheen Park Greyhound Stadium to meet Chris and Gold.

DROOPYS NIDGE & DROOPYS GOOD - YOUR WINTER RACING FESTIVAL MEMORIES

GRI

Join Ian Fortune now to look back on some of your favourite Night of Stars and Winter Racing Festival Memories - first up in Droopys Nidge in 2014 and Droopys Good in 2021.

FESTIVE TALES FROM THE YELLOW CHAIR: WILLIE & CHARLIE

GRI

Our Yellow Chair has hit the road once again for Christmas and is sharing some more wonderful stories from across Ireland.

IRGT DOGS AND THEIR TALES PODCAST: CLODAGH BOURKE

GRI

In the first episode of IRGT Dogs & Their Tales, Rory speaks to our new Irish Retired Greyhound Trust (IRGT) Greyhound Rehoming Co-ordinator, Clodagh Burke.

TALKING DOGS ON THURSDAY PODCAST EPISODE 114: FRANK NYHAN

Barry Drake

For the final podcast episode of 2022, Barry is joined by Rásaíocht Con Éireann / Greyhound Racing Ireland Chairman, Frank Nyhan.

MARIE EMULATES PETSY BY LANDING CHRISTMAS OAKS

Ian Fortune

Tamara Butler’s Maries Wedding was the undoubted star at Shelbourne Park on Friday night as she emulated her dam Ballymac Petsy by racing to a superb success in the final of the Christmas Oaks.

PRE CHRISTMAS DOUBLE FOR EMERS AT CLONMEL

Peter Farrell

Clonmel hosted a nine race card last night and the highlight was a double for the Dunne kennel as both Emers Archie and Emers Dixie came home in front.

CHEQUE GOES QUICK IN CUP

Ian Fortune

Cheque For Sir may be a couple of months over two years of age but he seems to be improving all the time with his latest run, in Thursday’s Dublin Cup semis, the best of his relatively short career.

GALWAY’S NIGHT OF FINALS A BIG SUCCESS

Peter Farrell

Galway Greyhound Stadium hosted their WGOBA ‘Night Of Finals’ last night and it produced some wonderful action with a number of brilliant displays.

NICKY 1500 NOT OUT

Ian Fortune

One of the most popular handlers in the sport Nicky Turner had reason to smile at Enniscorthy on Monday night, as not only did he record a wonderful double with Baton Rouge and Dysert Queen, but he also reached an incredible milestone.

CONGRATULATIONS JIMMY & BEST WISHES DAVY

GRI

Two great Cork sportsmen, and friends of our sport, have been making the headlines this week.

UPDATE TO NOVICE GRADING REGULATIONS JANUARY 2023

GRI

Trainers and Owners please note amendments to the regulations surrounding Novice grading, qualifying and racing which will come into effect from the 1st January 2023.

DANA RETIRED AND WON’T DEFEND MARATHON CROWN

Ian Fortune

One of the greatest ultra-marathon performers to ever grace these shores, Dana Point has run her final race after finishing at the tail of the field in her comeback outing at Limerick on Sunday evening.

VIDEO: 2022 SHELBOURNE CHRISTMAS OAKS SEMI-FINALS

GRI

Join Ian Fortune now to look back on two tremendous Semi-Finals in the 2022 Shelbourne Christmas Oaks with wins for Speedels About and Ballymac Run.

3-YEAR SPONSORSHIP ANNOUNCED WITH JAG BUILDING SERVICES UNVEILED

GRI

A new three-year sponsorship agreement was announced by Gavin O'Mahoney of Jag Building Services this week which will see events being hosted in Kilkenny, Enniscorthy, Clonmel and Kilcohan Park (Waterford).

VIDEO: 2022 MATCHBOOK IRISH ST.LEGER FINAL

GRI

Join us now to look back on the fantastic performance of Bobsleigh Dream to win the 2022 Matchbook Irish St. Leger Final in Limerick on Sunday night.

PLUNKETT DEVLIN

The sad news came through on Monday of the passing of one of the most important figures in Irish greyhound racing over the past fifty years, Plunkett Devlin.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE NIGHT OF STARS / WINTER RACING FESTIVAL MOMENT?

GRI

We'll be sharing your Night of Stars and Winter Racing Festival highlights as we look forward to this year's event in Shelbourne Park on 29th & 30th December.

TALKING LEGER 2022 EPISODE 5 MONDAY 19TH DECEMBER

GRI

Ian Fortune, Tommy Lyons and RPGTV's Jonathan Kay are here to chat about Bobsleigh Dream's fantastic win.

BRILLIANCE FROM BOBSLEIGH TO LAND 2022 MATCHBOOK IRISH ST. LEGER

Peter Farrell

The 2022 Matchbook Betting Exchange Irish St. Leger may have been deferred by one week due to weather but it was certainly worth waiting for as last night’s €30,000 decider was landed in exceptional fashion by the favourite, Bobsleigh Dream.

LADIES DELIGHT AT SHELBOURNE

Ian Fortune

There was a real buzz about Shelbourne Park on Saturday night as Christmas revellers were treated to a superb night of action.

CRAFTY AND SEAMUS IMPRESS AS FESTIVE STAKES CONTINUE AT GALWAY

Peter Farrell

Galway continued their festive sweepstakes last night and there were no shortage of quality performances with the Paul Burke Top Kennel 2022 A2 525 proving particularly competitive.

BROADSTRAND STRONGEST IN CURRAHEEN FEATURE

Barry Drake

BROADSTRAND NOAH ran out a brilliant winner of the GoGreyhoundRacing.ie AO/A1 575 final at Curraheen Park on Saturday night.

MICHAEL BRENNAN

It’s with real sadness we must report the passing of one of the most respected men in greyhound racing, Michael Brennan.

SWEET DUBLIN CUP RUN FROM MARSHMELLO

Ian Fortune

In what were predictably slower than normal conditions at Shelbourne Park on Friday night, Keith Duffy’s Marshmello set a strong standard in the quarter finals of the Dublin Cup, leading from the turn to post a very quick 28.75 on a track conservatively rated .30 slow.

GRANGEVIEW DOUBLE THE HIGHLIGHT ON FESTIVE NIGHT AT GALWAY

Peter Farrell

Galway Greyhound Stadium continued their festive sweepstakes last night and on a very cold night, which was reflected on the clock, the Hogan Family accounted for a double with Grangeview Port and Grangeview Liz both scoring.

TRACK RATINGS - REGULATORY NOTICE

GRI

As part of the ongoing review of Track Ratings on a national basis, Rásaíocht Con Éireann has recently reviewed the track ratings applied to licensed Stadia under normal conditions.

TALKING DOGS ON THURSDAY EPISODE 113: MICHAEL HEENEY

GRI

Barry speaks to Michael Heeney, a man who has been involved in dogs for a long time joins us from Waterford.

BRILLIANT ESKE SADLY PASSES ON

Ian Fortune

Word came through on Wednesday evening that Ballymac Eske had passed on.

RPGTV CONFIRM RECORD IRISH COVERAGE FOR 2023

GRI

Racing Post Greyhound TV, in conjunction with Greyhound Racing Ireland and SIS, has announced record Irish coverage for 2023 with up to 22 major live broadcasts planned in addition to the weekly Sunday afternoon Mullingar action.

NOREEN GRAHAM

The sad news came through on Tuesday morning that one of the first ladies of greyhound racing, Noreen Graham had sadly passed away.

2023 RACING BONUS INCENTIVES

GRI

Greyhound Racing Ireland have announced a number of prizemoney bonus incentives for events across the 2023 Irish Greyhound Racing Calendar.

CATEGORY 2 MEAT FEEDING

GRI

Clarification regarding the feeding of Category 2 Meat.

JOHN KENNY

The sad news came through yesterday of the passing of one of the great doggy men, John Kenny.

MICHAEL GETS TO 100 IN STYLE

Ian Fortune

Michael Donnelly is a young trainer that has increasingly become someone to watch, especially when he brings one to Shelbourne Park.

LADIES SPARKLE AT SHELBOURNE

Ian Fortune

Once again, as on Friday, conditions were bitterly cold at Shelbourne Park on Saturday night but a bumper crowd were treated to a tremendous night of racing, highlighted by the fairer sex as they thrilled in the opening round of the Christmas Oaks.

CAKE CELEBRATES GOLD CUP SUCCESS

Ian Fortune

Florence Cake completed her impressive march through the Toolmaker & DTSC Gold Cup at Drumbo Park on Saturday night, showing great speed and strength to control the contest from the early stages.

URBAN TURNS ON STYLE IN DUBLIN CUP

Ian Fortune

Conditions may have been bitterly cold at Shelbourne Park on Friday night but the track staff did a wonderful job to have the track running perfectly safe.

MATCHBOOK PODCAST – IRISH ST. LEGER FINAL PREVIEW

Sponsors, Matchbook, are looking forward to tomorrow’s Irish St. Leger Final with their podcast previewing the action this afternoon

FURTHER PROGRESS MADE IN TRACEABILITY DURING 2022

GRI

Substantial further progress has been made this year in the area of traceability, which is vital to safeguarding the future of the sport of greyhound racing. RCÉ commenced collating all data pertaining to all official and unofficial trials during 2022 with the introduction of additional functionality planned for 2023.

TALKING DOGS ROADSHOW PICTURES

Thanks to everyone who joined us for a wonderful evening in Limerick Greyhound Stadium last night. Brendan captured some of the night for us, have a look at the pictures now

2023 GRI CLASSICS & FEATURES CALENDAR RELEASED

GRI

The dates have been released for the big Greyhound Racing events in Ireland in 2023 with the Derby Final to take place earlier, on Saturday 2nd September.

VIDEO: 2022 MATCHBOOK IRISH ST. LEGER SEMI-FINALS

GRI

Look back on last weekend's Matchbook Irish St. Leger Semi-Finals.

RECORD BREAKING LAD HANGS UP HIS BOOTS

Ian Fortune

Michael Heeney has reported that his star performer Sentimental Lad has run his last race after picking up an injury in his latest trial.

BALLYMAC JAZZ A VERY POPULAR WINNER IN YOUGHAL

Barry Drake

BALLYMAC JAZZ ran out a very popular winner of Monday night's second race for Cloyne man, James Costine. Supported from 7-4 into 6-4 on track, favourite backers never had a moment's worry as the impressive winner bounced out in front and went on to make all the running, in 29.65.

TALKING LEGER 2022 EPISODE 4: MONDAY 5TH DECEMBER

GRI

The Final 6 have been decided and we've got less than 30 seconds of action remaining in the 2022 Matchbook Irish St. Leger. All eyes turn to Limerick on Saturday night to see who will claim the €30,000 winners prize.

BOTH BIG AND LITTLE BROTHERS IMPRESS AT DUNDALK

Ian Fortune

Dundalk’s decision to run an open 400 every Saturday night through December is paying dividends as Saturday’s race produced an absolute belter with Mccool Blue emerging a brilliant winner, be it only by the minimum margin from Crafty Bonanza.

SERIOUSLY STYLISH RUN IN NATIONAL PUPPY

Ian Fortune

Up The Style may have been having just her eighth career start but she was again the toast of Shelbourne Park on Saturday night as she confirmed her standing as one of the best and most exciting young greyhounds on the planet with a brilliant display of front running in the final of the IGOBF National Puppy Stake.

CAKE FASTEST IN DRUMBO’S GOLD CUP

Ian Fortune

Storys Mattie and Florence Cake prevailed in the semi finals of the Toolmaker & DTSC Gold Cup at Drumbo Park on Saturday night. Neither were favourite for their respective heats but they avoided the traffic spots.

BOBSLEIGH AND BAILEY TAKE CHARGE IN MATCHBOOK ST. LEGER SEMIS

Peter Farrell

The semi finals of the Matchbook Betting Exchange Irish St. Leger took place last night at Limerick Greyhound Stadium and both semis produced two very different but equally as impressive performances as Bobsleigh Dream and Annagh Bailey landed the spoils ahead of next weekend’s €30,000 decider.