BRIAN BACK TO HIS BEST IN CONNACHT DERBY SEMIS

Peter Farrell

The semi-finals of the Kilcolgan Castle Connacht Derby delivered plenty of thrills and spills at Galway Greyhound Stadium on Friday night, with Slippery Brian bouncing back from his second-round defeat to post the fastest time of the two semis.

After two brilliant performances in the earlier rounds, the standout performer up to this point had been the Pat Buckley-trained Grouchos Gregor, who was duly installed as the 4/5 favourite for the opening semi-final. However, he was to lose his unbeaten tag in the event as a missed break, coupled with an early bump effectively ended his chances of landing the spoils. Instead, it was a case of early pace winning the race as Tiermana Hunter, owned by the Supping-Away-Syndicate, made every yard of the running.

Drawn in trap two, ‘Hunter’ produced one of his customary ping starts from trap two before excelling on the long run to the opening bend. Hollywell Merlin soon emerged as the main threat out wide as Allison Coxon’s prolific tracker displayed fine early dash to move within striking distance. In behind, the Buckley runners Unanimous Leo and Grouchos Gregor were having their own battle in third and fourth respectively. Holding a lead of a length and a half entering the back straight, Tiermana Hunter was setting a strong gallop but failed to shake off the persistent Hollywell Merlin, who had closed to within three parts of a length rounding the bottom two bends. Not to be outdone, the Colm Fitzgerald-trained brindle found a second wind turning for home and the son of Ballyhimikin Jet – Tiermana Jetty showcased his superior stamina in the closing stages to cross the line two lengths clear of Hollywell Merlin, who also ran an exceptional race in second. Grouchos Gregor, who did not enjoy the clearest of passages, showed good pace down the back to breeze past Unanimous Leo and claim the final qualifying position in third. The time was 30.38 .10s.

BRIAN GIVES THEM THE SLIP

Slippery Brian (2/1) had tasted defeat for the first time in the event last weekend when forced to settle for third, but there was no repeat on this occasion as he led home kennel companion Donishall Sam in the second semi-final.

In a five-dog contest, Slippery Brian held the advantage in terms of the opening sectional clock and he quickly showcased that edge with a fine start from trap four. Owned by Larry Dunne, ‘Brian’ soon established a healthy lead on the run to the opening bend and he rounded with daylight to spare from Droopys Map in second and Donishall Sam close behind in third. Opening up by four lengths down the back straight, the son of Ballymac Cashout – Old Treasure set a blistering gallop to the three-quarter mark. Donishall Sam, his kennel companion, showed a smart turn of back-straight pace to move past Droopys Map into second. However, the result was never in serious doubt as Slippery Brian maintained a commanding advantage. Although Donishall Sam made some late inroads on the leader, there were still two and a half lengths separating the pair at the line. Droopys Map claimed the final qualifying position, while the winning time was a rapid 30.03 .10s.

The draw for the final of the Kilcolgan Castle Connacht Derby 550, kindly sponsored by Karen Geoghegan, was made shortly after and is as follows :

T1 - SLIPPERY BRIAN

T2 - GROUCHOS GREGOR

T3 - DONISHALL SAM

T4 - TIERMANA HUNTER

T5 - DROOPYS MAP

T6 - HOLLYWELL MERLIN (W)