BALLYCOWEN FRANK POWERS INTO KENNEDY CUP FINAL

Peter Farrell

The semi-finals of the Gammell Car Sales Kennedy Cup took centre stage at Limerick Greyhound Stadium on Saturday night and Ballycowen Frank continued his relentless march as he cemented his status as the one to beat ahead of next week’s final.

Trained by Dean Harpur for Debbie Doyle, Ballycowen Frank entered this competition with only a couple of sprint starts to his name but the step up to four bends has seen him reach new levels. After clocking a sizzling 28.48 in last week’s opening round, which was the fastest of the round, the son of Ballymac Cashout and Peckies Flyer went even better this time as he produced a thrilling off-the-pace victory in 28.35.

Sent off the 6/4 joint favourite alongside Frenchford Madam, Ballycowen Frank missed the kick from trap three and found himself in fourth heading down the back straight, with Frenchford Madam setting the early fractions from trap two. However, once he hit full stride, ‘Frank’ began to eat up the ground, gliding past Beaming Zen and Tyrap Robin with ease approaching the penultimate bend. By the bottom turn, Frenchford Madam was a sitting duck as Ballycowen Frank loomed large and he inevitably powered past his rival to win by an extending three lengths. This was a commanding performance that underlined the growing dominance of ‘Frank’ in this year’s renewal. Frenchford Madam ran a gallant race to claim second, while Beaming Zen grabbed the final qualifying spot in third.

BRIGHT MORGAN SHINES IN OPENING SEMI

In the opening semi, there was an upset as Bright Morgan (Broadstrand Bono – Bright Ella) produced a storming late finish to land a 4/1 victory for Mary Lynch.

The well-fancied Mongys Tiger (5/4f) saw her challenge end early after encountering traffic, leaving Da Ganger to take command from trap six. The pace-setter quickly opened up a four-length advantage over Sheezatwister entering the back straight, while Bright Morgan, slowly into stride, appeared to have plenty to do in fifth place. However, the strong-running black was far from finished. Producing a scintillating burst of pace in the closing stages, Bright Morgan began to reel in her rivals one by one. Da Ganger looked a likely winner rounding the bottom bends, but Mary Lynch’s charge came from the clouds to surge past and take victory by an extending half-length. The clock stopped at 28.88, with Da Ganger forced to settle for second and Starson Sixo claiming the final qualifying spot in third.