CHARLESTOWN TO ASSERT IN PAS BAR FEATURE AT THURLES
Peter Farrell
There is a fantastic card on display at Thurles Greyhound Stadium later tonight and the feature will be the final of the Pa’s Bar, Upperchurch, 525, boasting a winner’s prize of €1,050.
Kindly sponsored by Pa’s Bar in Upperchurch, this competition was very well received at the outset and the certain favourite ahead of the feature will be the Paddy Brennan-owned, Charlestown. The November 20’ son of Dorotas Wildcat and Princess Aine has been flawless in both rounds thus far in winning in trap-to-line fashion. The lightly raced sort has fine speed throughout and last week in particular, he showed big improvement when drawing clear to post 29.49 .20s. As a result, he is the worthy favourite and certainly has the scope to go even quicker given he has just the four starts under his belt. Of his rivals, the striped jacket runner of Miss Celebrity fits the bills. Owned by the Only-Pints-And-Euros-Syndicate, the brindle broke her duck last time out when finishing at speed to clock 29.53 and she is heading in the right direction. She is the sole wide in six so will benefit from a clear passage early doors and should she repeat that 1.70 sectional from her semi final, she can get involved. Outside of the duo, it is difficult to see the remaining runners making an impact in terms of landing the spoils. Both Fast Comand and Blue Mazda are still learning their trade as June whelps and will no doubt improve, while Cashel Ava looks the most likely to fill the podium for Ann Taylor and make life difficult for the leading pair early doors from five. The remaining runner is Rapper Queen in one, who will be finishing at a rate of knots but will need some luck early on from her rails berth in one.
BRAVE TO BLITZ HIS RIVALS
Elsewhere on the card there is some super racing on display and the final of the Coolavanny Hoffa @ Stud will provide the supporting act, kindly sponsored by the Droopys Stud in Portlaw.
Brave Lad was hugely impressive debut winner and its difficult to make a case for any of his rivals based on his outstanding performance last Saturday night. Jointly owned by Pat Guilfoyle and John Byrne, the son of Skywalker Logan won by eleven lengths last time out, posting a slick 29.18 .20s, and don’t be surprised if he shaves several lengths off that clock tonight. Drawn in five, expect another make-all performance from this July 21’ pup.
570 ACTION
Aside from the two finals, there is further sweepstake action getting underway and the first of those is the Thurles Racecourse A4 570, kindly sponsored by the Molony Family.
In total, there are three heats on offer and in heat one, Pookies Neptune is selected to finally get off the mark. Owned by the Pas-Bar-Syndicate, the son of Droopys Cain won a sales trial in impressive fashion at Kilkenny last Saturday morning, posting 29.51 .20s, and if reproducing those types of figures he will be hard to contain. In heat two, Diegos Shay has raced against better class in the past and should race prominently in five, however, Outdoor Millie has been strongly supported in her two starts to date and gets the vote to land the spoils over the extended trip tonight. Errill Daithi is selected to land the final heat of the night. Tommy Morrissey’s fawn has superb finishing power, and he is stepping back to A4 company later tonight. Drawn in four, don’t expect to see Errill Daithi early on, but he will be flying at the finish.
JOHN RAFFERTY MEMORIAL
Sprint stakes are few and far between at Thurles Park but the John Rafferty Memorial Open 330 will grace the card for the first time tonight and this has been kindly sponsored by the Rafferty Family.
This competition really has added some class to tonight’s card and the opening semi final is red-hot. Coolemount Boss is handled by the late John’s son, Michael, and he is a top-class tracker on his day. Boasting some incredible form around the likes of Dundalk, which is the greatest test of a sprinter in the land, he is returning after a layoff but is brilliantly housed in trap one. He will no doubt come on for his 17.85 trial at Newbridge but will need to be at his sharpest to come out on top. Greatdistraction is another returning to action for the first time in three months. The Paul Brussell’s runner has arrived back with a flying 17.99 .10s trial and that outlines his well being in trap four. Courty Girl is another flying starter over the standard trip and if reproducing that over the two-bends, she could build up ahead of speed for John Byrne in five.
In the second semi, Laughil Roy gets the vote to return to winning ways for Michael O’Donovan. The son of Droopys Jet is top-class on his day and his second-place finish behind Dogs Anonymous is a fantastic line of form, given he led the latter, who has some stunning two-bend form to his name. Of his rivals, Cabra Sonic is all about early pace and has a best time of 17.65 over the 330-yard trip at Thurles. Paddy Scally’s dog is rarely led over the four bends and if transferring those 1.60 sectional to the two-bend trip, he certainly warrants respect. Windmill Breeze is another to keep an eye on in trap one based on some strong form around Clonmel.