GREGOR STARS IN KILCOLGAN CASTLE CONNACHT DERBY SECOND ROUND
Peter Farrell
The action ramped up at Galway Greyhound Stadium on Friday night as the second-round heats of the Kilcolgan Castle Connacht Derby 550 took centre stage, and the contest more than delivered, with Grouchos Gregor laying down a serious marker.
A winner of his opening-round assignment in a smart 30.32 .30s, Grouchos Gregor had looked a greyhound of real promise when romping to an eight-length success. Faced with stiffer opposition in the opening heat of round two, he again made light work of his rivals, motoring to another facile victory for Pat Buckley, Ken O’Connell and Billy Thomson.
Still only a May pup, ‘Gregor’ was installed as the even-money favourite and duly justified that confidence, pinging from trap four to seize an immediate advantage. Montana Shadow showed sharp early dash on the outer to join the leader on the run-up, but the duel proved short-lived as Grouchos Gregor tracked expertly to lead by two lengths into the back straight. Quickly extending his advantage, the son of Ballymac Cooper–Ballymac Wisdom moved into overdrive approaching the three-quarter mark. Although Gaytime Clyde stayed on into second, he had no answer to the leader, who powered clear to score by seven lengths in a brilliant 29.88 .10s. Coolavanny Shadow and Montana Shadow filled the minor placings just behind Gaytime Clyde in second.
MERLIN HANGS ON
The second heat produced a local success as Hollywell Merlin made every yard of the running to land a fine victory for Allison Coxon.
In a red-hot renewal, Unanimous Leo was sent off the 4/5 favourite but again failed to take to his Galway surroundings and could only manage fourth on this occasion. By contrast, Hollywell Merlin (6/1) boasts an excellent record at the track, having captured two previous sweepstakes. Despite this significant rise in grade, he broke swiftly from trap six to dictate matters early. The son of Ballymac Bolger – O Mahoney rounded the opening bends with a two-length advantage over Flyers Minnie. The latter mounted a sustained challenge in the closing stages, but ‘Merlin’ had already cast his spell and held on gamely to prevail by a neck. Slippery Brian, denied a clear run in the early exchanges, finished third, while Unanimous Leo could manage only fourth. The time was 30.27 .10s.
BULL RAGES
The concluding heat saw Jacktavern Bull record just his second career success, finishing with a wet sail to score at odds of 4/1.
Trained by David Byrne for the Pillar Syndicate, Jacktavern Bull had caught the eye when fourth in the opening round and showed the benefit of that experience here. Drawn in three, ‘Bull’ was slow into stride as On The Latt and Tiermana Hunter contested the early lead. The latter railed tightly to establish a three-length advantage, but Jacktavern Bull made significant ground down the back straight to move into second. Forced to wait for racing room around the bottom bends, the son of Droopys Sydney – Droopys Dancer produced a decisive surge on the Galway hill, mowing down Tiermana Hunter to prevail by three parts of a length in 30.42 .10s. Donishall Sam and Droopys Map were next to follow in third and fourth respectively.
The draw for the semi finals of the Kilcolgan Castle Connacht Derby 550 was made shortly after and is as follows :
1st Semi-Final
T1 - FLYERS MINNIE
T2 - TIERMANA HUNTER
T3 - UNANIMOUS LEO
T4 - GROUCHOS GREGOR
T5 - COOLAVANNY SHADOW
T6 - HOLLYWELL MERLIN
2nd Semi-Final
T1 - DROOPYS MAP
T2 - DONISHALL SAM
T3 - GAYTIME CLYDE
T4 - SLIPPERY BRIAN
T5 - JACKTAVERN BULL
T6 - MONTANA SHADOW