TAKE-TWO IN NORTHWEST GREYHOUND SUPPLIES SEMI FINALS

Peter Farrell

With the weather throwing a spanner in the works last Saturday night, the semi-finals of the Northwest Greyhound Supplies A4/A5 525 will finally get underway at Lifford tonight, and the €4,000-to-the-winner prize looks wide open given a fairly lopsided draw.

The second semi-final is particularly strong, featuring three of the four quarter-final winners drawn together. As a result, opinions may be divided, but a narrow vote goes to Lemon Donnacha. Declan Crossan’s runner is well housed in trap six, a draw that should allow him to avoid any early crowding on the inside. The son of Dromana Bucko is expected to come into the race from the halfway stage and should be firmly in contention as he looks to maintain his unbeaten record in the competition. Kilara Charli rates the main danger. The Dessie Kerrigan-trained runner is likely to start favourite following two impressive performances to date and it’s very difficult to oppose the son of Dromana Bucko given he has made every yard in both rounds. However, his 29.07 all-the-way success last time may well represent his ceiling, leaving little margin for error at the start.

Prior to that, the opening semi-final appears notably less demanding, and all six runners have reason for optimism.

Tetra Eco gets the vote after a highly encouraging effort behind Kilara Charli last weekend. David O’Neill’s runner showed marked improvement on that occasion, finding almost six lengths on the clock, and may still have plenty more to offer in a race that looks short on early pace. The son of Dorotas Wildcat finished strongly in that contest and is expected to adopt a prominent position from trap three, ideally housed on the inside of three wide runners. As for the opposition, you could throw a blanket over many of them, but Alien Shimmer is most open to improvement, while Gamble Frank would pose a major threat if rediscovering his best form (29.06) in a race that looks top-heavy with finishers.