A FAMOUS MILESTONE FOR THE PILLAR BOYS

Ian Fortune

Over the past two decades, the importance of syndicates has been huge to the continued success of greyhound racing in this part of the world.

They offer the opportunity for many to get involved in the sport for the first time and so many brilliant greyhounds have come under the ownership of various syndicates in recent years.

Of course, there are also different levels to syndicates with some more ambitious than others. Indeed, the Pillar Syndicate is the best example of this. Consisting of the father and son teams of Noel and David Bryne and Larry and Jack O’Shea, they know more about greyhounds than most.

Both Noel and Larry tasted plenty of success in the sport before their alliance was formed with Larry’s “Jacks” prefix and Noel’s “Winetavern” prefix carried to big success on many occasions by some star names.

But the decision to join forces and name the syndicate after the pillar located to the right of the bar at Shelbourne Park, where they would often share a few stories and share a toast, has been a lucky one.

Greyhounds like Ballinakill Alf, Jacktavern Bolt and Jacktavern Bella have seen them enjoy many great nights and after a quiet year, they are set to have many more big nights with their current crop of youngsters amongst the best they have been involved in.

A TREBLE OF SOME NOTE

This was never more evident than at Clonmel on Thursday night.

As our own Peter Farrell already reported (Clonmel report), the Pillar Syndicate and their “Jacktavern” prefix had a brilliant double in the quarter finals of the Rural Kennels Open Unraced with Jacktavern Alf setting the standard with a flawless 28.35 success and Jacktavern Bull showing massive pace and power to come from off the pace for a last stride victory in 28.88.

Earlier on the card Jacktavern Turbo also impressed when going fastest in the second round of the John White Memorial A3 Guys and Dolls. Leading early, he would come home clear in 28.38.

A SPECIAL MILESTONE

As it happens there was extra reason to celebrate as, according to the GRI, they were wins 99, 100 and 101 for the Pillar Syndicate.

Remarkably, the 101 winners came from just 259 entries, providing an incredible strike rate of 39%.

To claim win number 100 is a remarkable achievement and the boys deserve every bit of their success. They have never been afraid to put their money on the table, have invested in only the very best pedigrees and seem to be doing things the right way. Have no doubt, it won’t be long before we are reporting on win number 200!

Given the strength of their current team and the pedigree of some of the youngsters coming through, they could be set for a prolific 2026.