WILLIE MAHER MEMORIAL SET TO KICK-OFF AT THURLES

Peter Farrell

There is a great pot set to kick-off at Thurles Greyhound Stadium later tonight as the opening round heats of the Willie Maher Memorial A3 525 get underway at the Premier venue.

Kindly sponsored by the Maher Family, the eventual winner’s purse will be a handsome €1,850 and of the six heats on offer, there will be four qualifiers stepping into the second round.

A LOOK AT THE HEATS

In the opening heat, Michael Kennedy looks to have a nice prospect in the form of Yototo Lad and the May whelp is fresh from a smart off-the-pace victory at Clonmel last time out. This will be a much tougher assignment for the son of Dorotas Wildcat, however, given his strong running abilities, the Thurles circuit should play to his strengths. Priceless Hero and Long Spartacus are also involved in heat one and can go close.

Heat two will see Bust The Tins downgraded into A3 company again and son of Black Parachute shouldn’t be too far away if reproducing his best form. A former 28.85 winner around HQ, he has a nice draw in four to race prominently throughout. Ballycoole Boss is also involved in trap six and can have a say for local handler, Paraic Campion, while Borna Polly has some eye-catching trial form and she looks certain to break her maiden tag sooner rather than later.

Syds Button landed his debut assignment at Cork in a fine 29.32 .40s and he looks like the one to beat in heat three. Owned by the Button-Syndicate, the son of Knocknaboul Syd is a fresh October puppy and given he has some eye-catching trial form, he looks sure to go fast if getting loose early. His main rival looks to be Chasing Super in trap three. The son of Explosive Boy dipped under 29-seconds on debut when finishing second behind Clona King and looks to have a bright future.

Murt Leahy will be represented by Unanimous Jax in heat four and he is selected to bounce back from defeat last time out at Kilkenny. Drawn in red, the son of Ballymac Bolger has some swift clocks to his name and it looks a matter of time before he steps through the grades.

Borna Silk moved well in a recent trial at Thurles when posting 18.09 .10s and Kate Dwan’s bitch can give a good account of herself in heat five. A 29.05 winner around Clonmel, the daughter of Ballymac Bolger is well-housed in three and has the early sectionals to dictate from the outset. Of her rivals, Holiday Rose is in fine form of late and is chasing a hat-trick of wins, while Handshake is lightly raced, however, has some excellent form around Kilkenny.

The final heat of the night looks very competitive, however, Black Shine gets the nod to make it back-to-back wins for the Pie-In-The-Sky-Syndicate. A winner in 29.34 .20s last time out, the son of Black Parachute stayed on stoutly on that occasion and shouldn’t be too far away based on that performance. The early-paced Cabra Cairo looks certain to lead and as a result, rates as the main danger.