ROMEO TAYLOR CROWNED 2024 RURAL KENNELS UNRACED CHAMP

Peter Farrell

It was one of the biggest nights of the year at Clonmel greyhound stadium on Sunday as the final of the Rural Kennels Open Unraced 525 took centre stage and there was a shock on the cards as Romeo Taylor lowered the colours of the 1/2 favourite, Ballymac Danica.

Indeed, Graham Holland enjoyed a hugely fruitful night at the Suirside venue as not only did he send out Romeo Taylor, he also was responsible for landing the consolation unraced with another promising youngster, Untold Dollar.

Both offspring of derby champion, Newinn Taylor, it was Romeo Taylor that landed the €8,000 to the winner feature and he did so leading from trap-to-line. Much has been said and written about the explosive early pace that ‘Taylor’ holds and he was on the receiving end of another smart break from trap three. Shipping a bump early on from Toolmaker Bud, this didn’t derail the Romeo Taylor train and Dave Firmager’s pup rounded the opening bend with a healthy lead over favourite, Ballymac Danica, in second. The jolly did make fine inroads down the back to halve the deficit, however, she was forced to check at the penultimate turn and this ultimately proved crucial in the outcome of this prestigious event. Little to separate several runners entering the home straight, Romeo Taylor continued to be in the ascendancy and he held on gamely to see off Ballymac Danica by a half length, in 28.74 .10s. Another half length back was Toolmaker Bud, who also ran a fine race and it was just a short-head further back to Carrick Keano, who once again caught the eye in his attempts to recover from early trouble. All in all, this was without doubt one of the most talented renewals in recent memory and make no mistake, we will be hearing much more for several of these finalists in the weeks and months going forward.

DOLLAR STRIKES GOLD

Prior to the main event win, Graham Holland sent out Untold Dollar and he produced arguably the performance of the night in the Rural Kennels/Ballymac Kennels/Newpark Stud Consolation final.

Jointly owned by Callum and J Purdy, Untold Dollar went down narrowly to kennel companion, Romeo Falco, but he exacted revenge on his rival with a masterclass of front running. The 3/1 second favourite, Untold Dollar wasn’t hanging around at traprise as he bolted from four to lead early on. Chased hard by Romeo Falco in second, the son of Newinn Taylor and Glenegat Mildred wasn’t going to surrender the lead as he stayed on stoutly to see off ‘Falco’ by one length, in a rapid 28.51 .10s.

SWEEPSTAKE ROUND-UP

On the undercard, there were several sweepstake finals on offer and the first was the €2,000 to the winner ‘Droopys Kennels A3/A4 Guys & Dolls 525’ and this was claimed by Bright Malachi at huge odds of 10/1. Owned by Mary Lynch, the son of Malachi scored in his semi final assignment and although off to a poor start from trap three, he displayed his usual turn of staying power to finish with real intent and score by half a length over Knocknadoguebale in second. The time was 29.21 .10s.

Race five saw the final of the ‘Born Warrior @ Stud A3/A4 525’ and it was Foxrock Donie who emerged victorious at odds of 4/1. Owned by Canice Hyland, the son of Droopys Sydney and Oldburrin Diva was narrowly defeated in the semis but made amends on the night that mattered as he took up the running entering the back straight and never looked back thereafter. A fine display from ‘Donie’, the heavyweight tracker was two and a half lengths too strong for Tivoli Sophie crossing the line. The time was 29.03 .10s.

The final of the Sporting Press A1/A2 550 was the third of the €2,000 finals down for decision and Daring Bono built on his brilliant semi final victory with another polished display for James Maguire, Michael Millar and Michael Meade. A 15/8 chance at the off, the son of Broadstrand Bono and Emers Diva once again expressed his big engine from the halfway mark as he challenged late to stay on stoutly and score by four lengths from Subtle Jack in second. The time was 30.32 .10s

The last of the valuable sweepstakes came in race ten as the Orchestrate @ Stud AO/A1 Bitch 525 concluded and Goldcash Ice powered to a terrific victory for Jack Reid and Mairead Doyle. Downed by Born To Perform in the semis, he was to exact revenge on the night that mattered as the 10/1 chance broke well to sit in behind Miss Mini Holly early doors. Taking charge at the penultimate, the son of Ice On Fire and Paradise Asia stayed on strongly thereafter as he claimed a two and a half length win, in a rapid 28.62 .10s.

BRILLIANCE FROM BAILEY

Of the open races on offer, there was an exceptional performance from 9/4 chance, Annagh Bailey.

Always a greyhound who has been held in the highest of regard, Dan and Peter Stackpoole’s runner was bang on-song in this valuable Open and he made a terrific start from trap five to outline his intentions. Opening up down the back, the consistent son of Droopys Sydney and Bellmore Fantasy stayed on in his usual powerful manner to see off Ballinabola Jim by five lengths, in 29.71 .10s, an fantastic performance.

SCOOBY JETS IN

Despite Jennifer O’Donnell being out of luck with Born To Perform later in the card, there was a thoroughly impressive performance from Scooby The Jet in the Serene Ace @ Stud Open 525.

The hugely eye-catching Carmac King was installed as the 8/11 favourite in this contest, however, he had no answer to Scooby The Jet (7/1) who absolutely bolted from trap four to quickly assert. Steve Noble’s charge set a scorching gallop thereafter and although Carmac King gave the leader plenty to think about in the closing stages, the son of Good News and Mountaylor Queen held firm to win by one and a half lengths, in a brilliant 28.55 .10s.

BRILLIANT FROM SPEEDSTER BOY

Warrenstown Boy has raced at the top of his game for some time now and the Paraic Campion-trained speedster once again outlined his brilliant early dash with a win in the Track Bookmakers Open 300.

The 10/11 favourite, Warrenstown Boy was making his first start of 2024 and he picked up where he left off last time out as he paced up expertly from trap two before putting the contest to bed with a two and a half length victory over Wilderness Magic in second. The time for Osmond Bennett’s charge was a swift 16.26.