RACER ONCE AGAIN ASSERTS IN RURAL KENNELS UNRACED
Peter Farrell
The second round heats of the Rural Kennels Open Unraced 525 took place last night at Clonmel Greyhound Stadium and for the second consecutive week, Droopys Racer stole the show with another polished performance.
Jointly owned by Roy Ball and Trevor Pearson, Droopys Racer was by far and away the fastest performer on the opening night as he recorded 28.49 .10s and he duly led home a brilliant one-two for Co. Tyrone trainer, Michael Corr, as he once again went quickest to book his spot in next week’s semi finals.
Running in the last of the four second round heats, Droopys Racer was expected to take all the beating and he broke smartly from trap two to dispute the early running with Laughil Rocky. Michael Corr’s runner showed the better of the early pace on the run to the turn and with Laughil Rocky steering a wide course, this allowed Corr’s other representative, La Conquistador, to slip into second. Droopys Racer had assembled a three length lead at this point however, and it looked a tall order for his rivals as he galloped into the third turn, posting a best of the night 16.05 sectional in the process. Staying on well thereafter, the talented son of Droopys Buick and Droopys Saab had two lengths in hand over La Conquistador, who did make inroads late on, in second place. The final qualifying position was filled by Laughil Rocky in second as the clock returned a rapid 28.58 .10s.
FERN FLIES
In the opening heat of the night, Tarsna Fern (Skywalker Logan - Tarsna Atalanta) bounced back from her second place finish on debut as she won comfortably for owner Geoff Parnaby.
Tarsna Fern had led briefly in round one before being forced to settle for second place but she was in no mood to repeat that outing as she bolted from trap two, recording a 2.76 sectional in the process. Burgess Senorita gave chase in second rounding the opener, with Pied Piper a close third and looking threatening entering the back straight. Tarsna Fern was in full flow at this point however, and she clocked a smart 16.17 to the third turn as she held a two length advantage over Pied Piper, who was improving in behind. Tarsna Fern found extra around the bottom two bends however, and she upped the ante on the run to the finishing line as she crossed with a three length advantage over Pied Piper in second. Burgess Senorita claimed the final qualifying position as the time returned a very slick 28.68 .10s.
ONE-TWO FOR HOLLAND
Heat three saw Graham Holland claim a one-two as Hovex Tommy avenged his opening round defeat to lead home Rural Kihei in second.
Hovex Tommy came into the stake with arguably the best qualifying card after posting 28.43 around HQ, however, he came unstuck on debut and was forced to settle for third behind the impressive Droopys Racer. However, the son of Laughil Blake and Emers Velvet produced a very assured performance last night to throw his hat into the ring in terms of a possible outright contender. Running from trap two, Hovex Tommy was led early on by Burgess Canon but he used the latter as a buffer at the opening turn to barge his way through and take command. Drawing clear down the back to hold a four length lead, it was all one-way traffic for Hovex Tommy as Graham Ashe and Shaun Gresham’s runner powered across the line to seal a three length victory over kennel companion, Rural Kihei, who made up brilliant ground, in second. The luckless Burgess Canon claimed the final qualifying position in third and the time was a fast 28.76 .10s.
HUKUM LEAVES IT LATE
The remaining second round heat was landed by the Adam Dunford-trained Hukum as he too bounced back from an opening round defeat in fine style.
Owned by the Fantasy-Syndicate, Hukum chased home Droopys Racer in round one but lost little in defeat on that occasion and looked certain to go close in his second round contest last night. Running from trap four, Hukum broke best of all but bumped early on in his quest for the rails and subsequently found further traffic at the opener. In contrast, Burgess Frankie used his rails berth to perfection to slip around in front and he disputed down the back with Rural Taylor, while Hukum again challenged in third. Another bump ensued from Hukum at the penultimate as he screamed for racing room but he soon found daylight on the run for home as he stormed up the rails to take control. This was a really nice performance for Hukum as he recovered multiple times to land the spoils and the time for the son of Good News and Early Rise was 29.08 .10s. The other qualifying spots were claimed by Rural Taylor in second, with Newinn Ranger coming through to take third.
THE TRAP DRAW FOR THE SEMI FINALS OF THE RURAL KENNELS OPEN UNRACED 525
1stSemi-Final
T1 - HOVEX TOMMY
T2 - PIED PIPER
T3 - RURAL KIHEI
T4 - BURGESS SENORITA
T5 - HUKUM
T6 - RURAL TAYLOR (w)
2nd Semi-Final
T1 -BURGESS CANON
T2 - LAUGHIL ROCKY
T3 - TARSNA FERN
T4 - DROOPYS RACER
T5 - NEWINN RANGER
T6 - LA CONQUISTADOR