WIDE-OPEN SHAY ROONEY MEMORIAL 525 DECIDER AT LIFFORD

Peter Farrell

A €4,000 prize awaits the winner of the Shay Rooney Memorial 525 at Lifford Stadium later tonight and the final looks wide open, with several runners holding strong claims of landing the spoils.

Local hopes rest with Beebees Princess, who set the semi-final standard when the Niall McGhee-trained tracker clocked a rapid 28.85 from the front. On that occasion, she lowered the colours of impressive opening-round winner Zenith Wizard and she will again spearhead the local challenge in the decider. However, she faces a stiff task from trap five, a box she has not won from since her debut outing at Galway in early 2024.

WIZARD THE ONE TO BEAT

Zenith Wizard, by contrast, returns to a more suitable middle berth and remains the one to beat for Michael Taggart and Birol Nadir. The son of Out Of Range missed the kick in the semi-finals after his ultra-impressive opening-round display and had no answer to Beebees Princess on the night. Trap one proved difficult to break from, but he should be far more at home in trap three, a box he pinged from in the opener. As a result, the February puppy has all the tools to bounce back to winning ways.

MAX BIDS TO MAKE-ALL

Another with major claims is Barry Clancy’s Max Wago. The lightly raced brindle turned the tables on a narrow opening-round defeat when leading from trap to line in the semi-finals in 28.90. On that evidence, the son of Droopys Sydney commands plenty of respect and his trap two draw looks ideal, particularly given he should have too much early pace for Avenue Queen on his immediate inside.

ROBINSON DOUBLE-HANDED

Avenue Queen is the first of two Brian Robinson representatives and may yet prove his trump card courtesy of the draw. Very much at home in the red jacket, she has previously dipped comfortably under the 29-second barrier. While she will need to produce her very best, if the daughter of King Elvis can hold the rail early, she is certainly capable of playing a major role. Eimears Lady is likely to go off as the outsider, but she boasts an admirable strike-rate, with three wins from just eight starts. With so much early speed on show, the daughter of Dorotas Wildcat is expected to be finishing strongly and will be looking to capitalise should traffic develop.

MERLIN BIDS FOR THIRD STAKE VICTORY

Rounding out the field is Alison Coxon’s Hollywell Merlin, who dons his favoured striped jacket as the sole wide runner. The powerful son of Ballymac Bolger looked far more at home last time out and will be winding up his challenge down the back straight. Whether he can stay in touch with the pace setters on his inside remains to be seen, but he has a formidable record in stake finals, after landing two at Galway last year, and will be aiming to make it six wins from just nine starts on the night that matters most.