HOT WOOD CLAIMS ANOTHER BIG POT AT GALWAY

Peter Farrell

The final of the inaugural Jimmy Flaherty Memorial A1/A2 550 served as the feature at Galway on Saturday night and it was Hot Wood that claimed his second major stake at the Connacht venue this year.

Trained by Gerry Holian for Pat Carey, Hot Wood landed the €5,000 to the winner TIME Greyhound Nutrition A3/A4 525 back in March of this year and after reaching the semi finals of the Produce Stakes thereafter, he returned to claim another large pot on Saturday night.

Kindly sponsored by the Flaherty Family, this decider offered a top-class €3,500 to the winner and Hot Wood made no mistakes as he emerged an emphatic winner. That said, he was made to work hard to the halfway mark as Donies Wood really played his part in making Carey’s charge work hard. Indeed, ‘Donies’ took a flier from trap five and he appreciated the long run to the opening bend as he turned with a one and a half length advantage over Hot Wood in second. Holian’s runner quickly drew alongside the leader however, and he proceeded to turn the screw on the approach to the penultimate bend. Thereafter, it proved a formality for Hot Wood as the son of Airmount Nando and Burgess Millie went into overdrive to quickly draw clear of Donies Wood in second. Showing exceptional speed in the closing stages, Hot Wood was well on his way to making it a big-race double at Galway and he blazed a trail all the way to the winning line to account for a four and a half length victory over the gallant Donies Wood in second. The time was a top-class 29.88 .10s.

Reminder that in a change to their normal schedule, Galway will also race tonight and the feature will be the semi finals of the Martin Fahy Memorial A4/A5 525.