MANDOLIN CONTINUES ASSAULT ON GALWAY OAKS
Peter Farrell
Droopys Mandolin set a high bar last weekend in the opening round of the Fonez Galway Oaks and she continued her stranglehold of the event with another polished performance in last night’s semi finals.
After returning from her stint in the UK, Droopys Mandolin (1/1) has picked up where she left off in terms of producing incredible off-the-front performances and she built on her opening round domination with another really astute display. Trained by the in-form Robert Gleeson for Alan and Patrick Dobbs, the writing was pretty much on the wall from traprise as the daughter of Laughil Blake and Droopys Curio exploded from five to post a rapid 3.21 sectional. Chased in second by Glengar Jasmine, who was in turn followed by litter sister, Glengar Martha, in third, both bitches had a lot on their plate in terms of pinning back the leader. Setting a scorching gallop down the back, ‘Mandolin’ set a blistering third-bend sectional before staying on stoutly to see off the gallant Glengar Jasmine by four and a half lengths in second. The winning time was another swift 28.50 10s and the final qualifier next weekend will be Glengar Martha, who was just a half length further back in third.
MODEL MAKES ALL
In the second semi final, recent Laurels finalist, Role Model, produced one of her ping starts to make every post a winner for trainer Owen McKenna.
Owned by John Lambert, Role Model (4/1) was a litter underwhelming in the opening round when her wide-running style saw her pegged back entering the second turn, however, she righted that particular wrong in superb style last night. Replicating the start of Droopys Mandolin, she too produced a 3.21 opening sectional to sprint into the first bend in control. From here, it was all one-way traffic for the daughter of Pestana and Knockdrinna Winx as she galloped out majestically down the back. At this point, Burgess Anne moved into second at the expense of Singalong Dolly, who shipped a bump at the opener. The former certainly made inroads in the closing stages of the contest, however, it was too little too late in terms of landing the spoils as Role Model crossed the line with one and a half lengths in hand. The time was 28.86 10s as Singalong Dolly recovered from her bump to claim the final qualifying position in third.
COMPETITIVE STEPHEN MOLLOY ACTION
The semi finals of the Stephen Molloy Memorial served as the highlight on the undercard and the quickest, by one spot, was Grangeview Dude (5/2).
Owned by Galway regular, Jamie Hogan, this December puppy looks a very useful prospect and the 5/2 shot doubled his career tally to two wins with an expert performance. Running from trap one, the heavyweight tracker trapped smartly and he paced up brilliantly on the rail to bustle his way through and leave his rivals behind. Showing fine dash down the back, the son of Good News and Grangeview West stayed on strongly thereafter to cross the line three and three quarters lengths clear of Springwell Eddy in second. The time was 29.03 10s.
Prior to that, Fortune Sydney moved equally well as he scored a convincing win to go one better than his second place finish from one week prior.
Jointly owned by John Bowens and James Kilkenny, this greyhound boasts a very consistent record now of five wins from just nine starts and he was first on the ball from trap three last night to narrowly lead Da Ultimate on the outside. Tracking brilliantly around the opening two bends, the son of Droopys Sydney and Fortune Himary was stalked by Da Ultimate at the midway point but the latter never really looked like hitting the front as Fortune Sydney held firm. Crossing the line with a good two and a half lengths to spare, the time for the 5/2 chance was 29.04 10s