JIM McCANN REMEMBERED AT SHELBOURNE

Ian Fortune

One of the great friends of Shelbourne Park and Harold’s Cross will be remembered at the former venue this evening with the final of the Jim McCann Memorial the standout contest, while many of the races on the undercard will also carry his name.

Jim McCann, who passed away at a great age recently, stood as a bookmaker at Shelbourne Park and Harolds Cross for forty-five years and it’s nice to remember him in this way.

ROSE TO BLOOM IN MCCANN FINAL

The outcome of the feature largely depends on whether Lima Rose can repeat her opening round effort when posting 28.52.

She failed to do so last week and was narrowly beaten by Rowlers Road.

The pair are again likely to dominate the betting this evening and Lima Rose remains the one to beat but she needs to meet her rival at the right point in the contest. Last week, she attempted to challenge on the third turn only to be forced to check her stride. She rallied on the run in but Rowlers Road does have a habit of kicking off the final turn and he held on quite comfortably for a half length victory in 28.85.

Boothebest is well housed in the stripes and is likely to go up well but he would need to set the pace to threaten the aforementioned duo. Despite her latest defeat, Lima Rose is chosen to reverse form with Rowlers Road.

TORY AND SPELGA TO BATTLE IT OUT

Elsewhere on the card, the final of the RCETS ON2 525 looks a two-dog affair if you go strictly on semi-final form.

Tory Abbie and Spelga Dam both won well last time and have almost half a second in hand on their nearest rival. The latter is a member of the fast Grangeview Ten/ Unlock Unlock litter and is selected to improve enough to land the spoils for Brendan Matthews. Tory Abbie is an obvious threat but she will need to get first run on her strong running rival.