OAKFRONT THE ACE OF THE PACK IN CORKERY MEMORIAL DECIDER
Barry Drake
OAKFRONT ACE, trained by John Morrissey for owners the Oakfront Syndicate, is the pick in the feature at Curraheen Park tonight, the €5,000 to the winner Danny Corkery Memorial A3/A4 stake.'
The exciting April puppy has really hit top form in recent times, notching up back-to-back wins, in 28.79 and 28.71. The selection has stunning early speed, and he clocked a fantastic 3.28 sectional last week. If he reproduces another start like this, he will be expected to make all the running. The best is yet to come, and he looks a really nice sort going forward.
Glencroft Avatar, trained by Aaron O'Hanlon for owner Mark Flood, is another with leading claims. She has won her last four, and she has clocked three sub-29-second winning performances in recent weeks. There is no doubt she will need to go a bit quicker tonight, but she is capable, and with an explosive start, she will make them all go. The January puppy also has 16.28 in her card around the Clonmel 300-yard trip, so she is another talented youngster.
Of the others, the eye will be drawn to Burgess Speedy in the second half of the race. JJ Fennelly's powerful running tracker has a couple of fine recent winning runs, and he was a huge eye-catcher in defeat last week, just a head behind Oakfront Ace. He is expected to be out the back early, but if the gaps open at the right time, he will take some stopping in the second half of the race. A nice staying prospect going forward, he will be one to follow when upped in trip.
In the second of the night, Senahel Katie is selected to bounce out in front and make all the running for David and Ronan Lehane. The six-time winner has plenty of strong form in the book around here, and with one of her better starts, she could win the all-important race to the bend. In doing so, she will be hard to peg back.
The James Kelleher-trained Danzig Rebel is the main danger. A 15-time winner, he has plenty of all-round speed, and if turning in the mix, it will take a big performance to turn him over.
In the ON1 Unraced Stake final, Danish Doll rates a huge player from the inside of the track. Eugene Buckley's March youngster was well-backed last week, and although not winning, she displayed plenty of promise on debut. A quicker start will be needed, but she has the rails pitch and a much better performance is expected in this.
Ballymac Perris, for the Liam Dowling kennel, finished seven lengths in front of the selection last week, and he should deliver another big run. All about early speed, he clocked 28.43 in winning last week, and he will make them all go once more.
Hit or miss in recent runs, Enoch Bark is worth another go in race number six. He has a couple of big runs in the book, and this looks like a very winnable contest. Trained by Kieran Lynch for owners the Premier Rebel Lads Syndicate, the selection has the plum draw, next to the rails, and he can make all the running.
Idle Spark, for John Coakley and Dermot Cullen, will be fancied to go well from the rails in the ninth, but he will need a big performance to deny the Graham Holland-trained Romeo Alliance.
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