DANICA HEADS A STAR-STUDDED LIMERICK OAKS
Peter Farrell
Kindly sponsored by the Murphy Family, the opening round heats of the Clonbrien Treaty Limerick Oaks gets underway later tonight and it’s fair to say that the calibre of entry is through the roof with a number of the Country’s best females venturing to Limerick.
Boasting a brilliant winner’s purse of €4,000 for just two runs, only two bitches will qualify from the three heats on offer so there is little margin for error as a result.
DANICA THE ONE TO BEAT
Despite some hugely fast females in action, the eye is immediately drawn to Ballymac Danica as she bids to add the Limerick Oaks to her recent Suncroft Festival Puppy Oaks success. The strapping daughter of Ballymac Cooper and Ballymac Arminta smashed the Limerick track record in the opening round of the Con & Annie Kirby as she clocked a magical 27.83 and she is without doubt the one to beat in the last of the heats. Drawn ideally in trap three, the trap where she posted that record-breaking performance, expect another masterclass from this lady as she bids to record a brilliant ninth victory from just twelve starts. Of her rivals, Glengar Martha looks the most likely to give her something to think about. The Pat Buckley-trained blue is hugely fast on her day and this is evident from some sensational clocks of 28.02, 28.07 and 29.71 (550). Drawn in six as the sole wide runner, she has the ability to put it up to anything in training, however, she will need to get first run on her rival, which is much easier said than done. Another who is worth keeping an eye on in the final heat is the TIME Greyhound Nutrition Juvenile Derby runner up, Short Grip, who will no doubt improve from her appearance on Kirby final night.
GINGE CAN ASSERT IN OPENER
The opening heat of the night looks like a tough one to call, however, Castleivy Ginge gets the nod based on her stunning performance last time out at Limerick.
Trained by Karol Ramsbottom for Michael and Noel Nash, Castleivy Ginge took her last assignment by the scruff of the neck in dominating from the outset to clock an exceptional 28.24. That said, that performance was not out of character for the daughter of Droopys Sydney having taken scalps from the likes of Droopys Fidget and Unmatched prior to that. Housed in trap two, a fast start can see ‘Ginge’ race to back-to-back victories once again tonight. Of her rivals, Velvet Duchess is a worthy challenger. Owned by Ella Buckley, this lady posted a phenomenal 28.18 on route to landing a graded sweepstake back in February but has subsequently backed that performance up with two blistering trials, none more so than her 28.27 solo last time out at Limerick. This is her toughest test to date however, so it will be interesting to see how she performs from the black jacket. Of the others, Rafas Friend looks in fine fettle based off of her recent trials and she looks likely to challenge for qualification.
CAN POOKA REPRODUCE?
In the midst of all the top-class performances on Kirby final night was a display of pure class from Glenbervie Pooka and she will return to the scene of her greatest performance in heat two.
Jointly owned by Damien and Maurice O’Regan, Glenbervie Pooka proved a cut above her rivals last time out when winning comfortably in 28.26 and it’s worth noting that the likes of Glengar Martha, Short Grip and Scooby Countess were amongst her rivals on that particular night. Indeed, the daughter of Ballymac Bolger is bidding to complete a hat-trick of wins tonight, however, she will have to negotiate a tricky draw in five. Should she overcome that obstacle, she will prove a tough nut to crack, however, it is a horrid draw for ‘Pooka’ and she will need to be on her toes at traprise. Of her rivals, Ballymac Wendy looks the part for Liam Dowling. The daughter of Ballymac Anton has some stunning Tralee form and she posted a rapid 29.78 over the 550-yard trip last time out. Only a June pup, she still has scope to improve and could be one for the notebook later tonight. Coolavanny Poppy is another with strong claims. She has shown glimpses of brilliance in her seven starts thus far and she will benefit from a favourable draw in red this time around.