TIERMANA HUNTER STEALS THE SHOW AT GALWAY

Peter Farrell

An eight race card featured at Galway Greyhound Stadium on Friday night and while the final of the ‘Greyhounds Make Great Pets 525’ served as the main course, the performance of Tiermana Hunter was the standout on the night.

Trained by Colm Fitzgerald for the Supping-Away Syndicate, Tiermana Hunter has been in fine form in recent weeks, having reached the final of the valuable O’Connor Julian Vets Cashel Tri-Distance at Limerick. After finishing on the podium there, the powerful brindle returned to the standard 525-yard trip at the Connacht venue and he did so in style. Drawn in trap one, the 6/4 favourite broke smartly from the inside and muscled his way past Derrymoyle Bono at the opening turn. Once in front, the son of Ballyhimikin Jet and Tiermana Jetty quickly opened up a three-length lead by halfway and powered clear to win impressively. Showing his trademark stamina, Tiermana Hunter crossed the line five and a half lengths ahead of Scarlet Ella in a superb 28.70.

CLOONTURK HONEY SWEETENS THE NIGHT IN A6 DECIDER

There was a €700 prize on offer for the winner of the Greyhounds Make Great Pets A6 525, and it was Cloonturk Honey that caused a 5/1 upset for the Tigue Family Syndicate.

The veteran performer hadn’t tasted victory since June 2024 but chose the perfect occasion to bounce back. Coming in as a reserve from trap six, Honey exploded from the boxes and quickly established a lead over Cloneyogan Sydny on the run to the bend. Stretching three lengths clear down the back straight, the daughter of Ballymac Best and Brickhill Sharon began to tire late on but dug deep to hold off ‘Sydny’ by one length at the line. The winning time was 29.30.

VELVET ROCCO LAYS DOWN A MARKER IN UNRACED HEATS

The opening round heats of the October Unraced 350 were another highlight of the night, with Velvet Rocco setting the early benchmark in heat three.

Trained by Tadgh Buckley, the well-bred youngster was a hot 1/2 favourite and lived up to expectations. Breaking smartly from trap four, the son of Glengar Bale and Velvet Spring showed blistering early pace to take command. Although a slight stumble at the first bend allowed Hollywell Merlin to close the gap, Rocco soon straightened up and surged clear on the run home, winning comfortably by two and a half lengths in a sharp 19.24 seconds. With improvement likely, Velvet Rocco looks like a greyhound with a bright future.