DOLLY ADDS THURLES CHAMPION BITCH STATUS TO HER GROWING CV
Peter Farrell
It was one of the biggest nights of the year at Thurles Greyhound Stadium on Saturday as the final of the Droopys Stud Champion Bitch Stake went down for decision and it was Singalong Dolly who produced a sensational performance to land another feature for Pat Buckley at the Premier venue.
Kindly sponsored by Michael and Sean Dunphy of Portlaw, the 2024 feature had a brilliant €3,150 on offer to the winner and Singalong Dolly, who incidentally came in as a reserve after an earlier than anticipated exit, that cashed in on that luxury with a scintillating display as she added this prestigious event to her earlier Puppy Oaks victory in 2023.
Indeed, Pat Buckley’s ace card looked to Bobsleigh Dream as the reigning Tipperary Cup winner at Thurles bid to bounce back from a couple of defeats to win on the night that mattered most. However, the 6/4 favourite never got into the contest and instead, it was Gilbert Anderson’s 4/1 chance who produced one of her best career performances thus far to land the prize. Running from a tricky trap five berth, Singalong Dolly was actually slowest into stride as Giddyup Maggie once again pinged the lids from trap three. Holding a narrow advantage into the back from Mustang Fever, it was midway down the back where ‘Dolly’ expressed her huge engine to quickly draw alongside Giddyup Maggie at the head of proceedings. Now in charge, it was a matter of fending off the big finishers and although Borna Flame produced her trademark flying finish, Singalong Dolly was in no mood to surrender her lead as the daughter of Droopys Sydney and Mydras Dawn crossed the line to record a memorable one length victory. The time was a smashing 28.72 .20s and the decider was a fitting end to another terrific renewal at Thurles Park.
UNDERCARD
On the undercard, there were a number of brilliant performances but none more so than in the curtain raiser as Coosane Pickles dipped under the 29-second barrier on her first career start. Noted as one of, if not the toughest tracks in Ireland, the 29-second barrier is rarely breached at Thurles so to do so in your first career start indicates a very special talent. Owned by Clement Ryan, the October 22’ whelp went off at 4/6 and it was easy to see why as despite walking from traps, she sliced through the field to reel in Tarsna Gem before running out a seven length winner. A massively impressive display from this daughter of Droopys Sydney and Droopys Pickles, her time was an exceptional 28.89 .20s.
Taking all of the above into account, the same also applies to the Geoff Parnaby-owned Tarsna Maasai as he also produced a special debut display in race two. A heavyweight July 22’ pup, the son of Droopys Sydney and Tarsna Rose made light work of his rivals as he pinged out to record a slick 1.70 early sectional. In charge throughout, the 3/1 chance was majestic in running to a four length win over Magical Geronimo in second. The time was 28.84 .20s.