DERBY TIME AT KILKENNY
Ian Fortune
A wonderful €10,000 will go to the winner of the Lennies Derby at Kilkenny.
The A1 competition gets underway this evening with seven opening round heats and it seems likely there will be a number of impressive displays.
OTHER TO RUN WILD
One that certainly appeals is The Other Wild.
A top-class performer with tremendous early speed, he was recently a semi-finalist in the Irish Sprint Cup. He is set to dictate in the final heat and can emerge a good winner for Jennifer O’Donnell and the Born Wild Syndicate, potentially at the expense of the useful Biorra Prince and the ideally housed Max Wago.
RANGER ALSO APPEALS
Jennifer O’Donnell also has strong claims in Heat 2 where Born Ranger will be very difficult to stop of coming away on terms.
He too ran in the Irish Sprint Cup and displayed all sorts of pace. With a clear passage, he can see off Irish Sprint Cup finalist and sprightly veteran Barefoot On Fire.
A COMPETITIVE OPENER
The opening heat is a wide-open affair.
Ballygur Vernon has an ideal draw on the fence and is sure to attract support but others including Mystical Ranger and Kilgraney Bob are also greatly respected on the outside of the track.
A BOULD SHOWING LIKELY FROM JOHNJOE
Heat 3 is a true A1 contest with only one of the field having raced in higher company.
The dog in question is Da Bould Johnjoe. He is obviously entitled to respect but has been out of the frame in his most recent outings.
Should he put his best foot forward, he is entitled to go close but any mistakes would leave the door open for the progressive Hotshot Toby and the well-housed Kilara Fontaine.
HIDALGO FACING SOME DECENT RIVALS
Lemon Hidalgo is the proven performer in Heat 4. A Shelbourne Open 600 finalist earlier this year, he is certainly fast enough to make a bold bid but that’s not to suggest he will have things easy.
Boylesports Paul is young, progressive and facing an ideal draw on the fence.
He must enter calculations, while Droopys Gallant has tremendous early dash and is likely to race prominently. Throw in the hugely consistent and talented Mission Control and the promising Chickys Sally and is perhaps the heat of the round. Lemon Hidalgo is the choice but many of his rivals are capable of going close.
DIAMOND TO SHINE
While her brother, Oriental King, has been running extremely well around Shelbourne Park in the Derby and Derby Plate, Oriental Diamond can take her chance to shine in Heat 5.
She has impressed around Kilkenny in the past and a recent impressive sprint trial highlights her well-being.
She is chosen to emerge on top at the expense of the talented Glengar Blitz, Droopys Honour and the strong running Kosovo.
KUDOS MUST FIND THE GAPS
Kishlawn Kudos is considerably better than her career record suggests.
She has long been overdue a second win but luck has often been against her. Her style of racing is perhaps the issue. Generally, a decent starter, she lacks speed into the bend and often finds traffic before finishing fast.
Tonight, she is unlikely to turn in front but could find the gaps opening up. Irish Sprint Cup runner-up Rallying Billy is the most likely pace-setter on the fence, while Cracking Cody can also race prominently but both would be vulnerable if Kishlawn Kudos found a way to turn close.