INCREDIBLE HOFFA HAS RUN HIS FINAL RACE

Ian Fortune

In a racing career that spanned just 22 races, Coolavanny Hoffa lit up the sky above Irish greyhound racing like Halleys Comet.

He shone bright, travelled at incredible speeds and before you knew it, he was gone. Thankfully, for Irish breeders, the stellar performer is destined for a big future as a sire.

THE START OF THE STORY

The Coolavanny Hoffa story began before he ran his first race.

As we looked ahead to the start of the Greyhound & Petworld Juvenile Classic early last year, the usual whispers began doing the rounds and one was slightly louder than the others.

“Curly has a proper dog” was the way it was put to this scribe. It didn’t take much investigation to realise that the dog in question was a blue son of Droopys Sydney and Coolavanny Ella. After posting 28.76 in his first trial at Shelbourne Park, he then clocked 18.73 for 350yds at Limerick before flying around Tralee in 17.36.

A first round defeat at odds-on didn’t put off his backers and he won his second-round effort in 28.41 before clocking 28.26 a week later in the semis. He was now beginning to show the world just how talented he was.

Ultimately, he encountered traffic after a slow start in the final but had done enough to highlight what was to come. Luck was also not his friend in the Kirby Memorial but then things really started to click.

MAKING A SPLASH IN DUBLIN

After two stunning sprint trials at Cork and Tralee, he was sent to Shelbourne Park.

He carried no luck in his Dublin debut but a week later saw off some talented rivals in 28.29. A fortnight later, he returned to post 28.10 before going even faster in his next run, clocking a sensational 28.02.  

The Derby was now in his sights and he stepped up to 550yds on Champions Stakes final night, posting a quick 29.56 in what was his fourth win on the bounce. He brought that sequence to six in the early rounds of the classic, winning in an identical 29.56 in the opening round before going ballistic in the second round.

ASTOUNDING SECTIONALS

Showing astounding early speed, he posted 3.38 to the first line and a magnificent 16.80 to the third bend on the way to recording a brilliant 29.13.

He was now the clear favourite for Derby glory. He was again at his razor-sharp best in the quarter finals, posting a rapid 29.24.

Now a red-hot favourite for Derby glory, disaster struck in the semis. A close second and challenging eventual Derby champion Born Warrior at the third turn, he checked wide, finding bad traffic and losing his chance of Derby glory.

For the next ten months, the greyhound world caught small glimpses of the brilliant tracker. His first appearance after his Derby disappointment came in a trial at Tralee in February. Not only did he go very fast but he went over a length under the track record as he stopped the clock in 17.04.

Again, Michael O’Donovan left us guessing with his star as his next trial wasn’t until May when he clocked a lightning fast 27.83 at Curraheen Park. A 28.23 trial at Shelbourne Park in late June suggested the Derby would again be the plan, while some three weeks later he posted 27.94 at the same venue.

A LONG-AWAITED RETURN

The odds were stacked against him returning after ten months to win a Derby but he was still installed a hot favourite to come home in front in early September.

And the money came for him in spades!

While he didn’t fly from traps in either of his two early round assignments, he did look smooth as silk as he posted 29.43 and 29.31 to score. Sadly, the latter would be his last ever success. He was still showing his outstanding pace but just couldn’t get his starting right. Still amongst the favourites ahead of the semi-finals, he fluffed his lines at boxes and actually ran a remarkable race to move third only to be collared late by noted big finisher and eventual Derby third Bends Teddy.

His final start came in the Consolation Derby at a packed Shelbourne Park on Saturday night and he was again favourite only to stumble from boxes and find traffic. It was discovered after the race that he had damaged a gracilis muscle, most likely at trap rise.

BACK TO STUD

It brought an end to a career that saw Coolavanny Hoffa establish himself as one of the fastest greyhounds of the past decade.

To see him in full flight was a joy. His performances in the second round and quarter finals of the 2022 Derby were simply incredible and that is what he should be remembered for.

He has already proven a huge hit with breeders, serving a huge number of bitches during his ten-month hiatus. He now returns to the Droopys Stud in Portlaw where he will again likely be kept very busy. Some of his early pups will soon be hitting the tracks and if they are anything like their exceptional sire, they will be worth following.

His career record may have lacked a big race victory but, have no doubt, those that saw him at his most fluent best will remember him for the rest of their days. One of the most electrifying greyhounds this scribe has ever seen in the flesh, we await his first crop of youngsters with great anticipation. Thanks for the memories, Hoffa!