ID RATHER NOT DELIVERS, SANTIAGO STARS

Peter Farrell

The final of the NWGOBA June ON2/ON3 325 featured at Lifford Greyhound Stadium on Saturday night and it went very much to script, with Id Rather Not making it back-to-back wins and cementing his status as a fine prospect for the future.

With €1,000 on offer to the winner, Id Rather Not had set tongues wagging from the outset of the competition. Despite finishing second on debut, he was the clear takeaway from the opening round, showing huge pace to outline his credentials as the likely winner of the event. Owned by Plunkett Matthews, Id Rather Not produced a rapid 17.53 in the semi-finals and, after drawing another plum berth in red, anything other than victory would have been considered a major surprise. Installed as the odds-on favourite, the beautifully bred son of Dorotas Wildcat and Rathdown Molly got down to business from the outset, breaking best of all to lead Margan Minnie into the opening bend. The contest quickly developed into a two-dog affair after just a few strides, with Id Rather Not opening a two-length advantage. Strengthening his grip on proceedings as the race progressed, the Matthews runner was never under any serious threat thereafter, powering up the Lifford hill to score by three lengths from Margan Minnie in second. A winning time of 17.43 .10s further underlined his superiority throughout the competition and, given he is only a December 2024 pup, there is every reason to expect further improvement in the weeks and months ahead.

NWGOBA GEYHOUND SUPPLIES SEMIS

Aside from the main event, the three semi finals of the Northwest Greyhound Supplies A3/A4 525 also took place and it was Santiago that went quickest, building on an eye-catching performance in round one.

Owned by Georgina Gibbons, Santiago was luckless in an eye-catching defeat in round one and, as a result, was the 4/7 favourite to bounce back in the opening semi. Drawn in four, the Declan Crossan-trained runner broke much better this time around to assert from an early stage. Hitting the front rounding the opening bend, the progressive son of Ballyhimikin Jet - Dixie was kept honest throughout by Ballymac Topper, however, proved too hot to handle as he emerged a three and a half length winner in 28.85 .20s.

In the remaining semi-finals, Drumnafern Balor produced a dominant display to emerge a nine-length winner for Eugene Skeffington in 28.90 .20s, while Brocks Your Man landed a four-runner affair in trap-to-line fashion, scoring by one and three-quarter lengths for Aoife Kiely in an identical 28.90 .20s.

MINSTREL ROCKET

Aside from the sweepstake action, there was one other performance that it would be remiss not to mention. The Lifford Open 325 brought together some of the best speedsters the Northwest currently has to offer and it was landed in exceptional style by Michael and Joe Calvert’s Minstrel Rocket.

Minstrel Rocket has long shown plenty of ability, as evidenced by a brilliant 16.57 on his card around the Brandywell, alongside a 17.51 victory at Lifford. Lining out in trap two on Saturday night, he appeared to have a stiff task on his hands as Velvet Samba showed electric early pace to quickly assert from his rails berth in trap one. However, Minstrel Rocket is every bit as effective over four bends as he is over two and the son of Deerjet Sydney and Orange Helen began to close approaching the bottom two bends. Rapidly eating into Velvet Samba’s advantage, ‘Rocket’ lived up to his name entering the home straight, showing a tremendous turn of foot to hit the front and quickly draw clear. Winning by two lengths from Velvet Samba in second, the time was a rapid 17.32 .10s, a performance that ranks among the very best seen over the two-bend trip this year.