Liam Dowling will bring the Derby and Oaks favourites to National Coursing Meeting in Clonmel
TIME is ticking to the start of the national coursing meeting at Powerstown Park on Sunday, February 5, and, as always, Kerry hopes of success at the Clonmel venue are high.
ndeed, Liam Dowling has the first three in the betting for the Horse and Jockey Oaks in Ballymac Zena (5/1), Ballymac Wonder (10/1) and Ballymac Pippin (10/1), at the time of writing anyway, and his kennel also has the joint-favourite for the Boylesports Derby in Ballymac Major (8/1), along with four other well-fancied qualifiers in Ballymac General (12/1), Boylesports Team (12/1), Ballymac Ida (14/1) and Ballymac Devito (16/1).
Some team that and, needless to say, the Kerry challenge in both classics is strongly fortified by others.
Keeping them healthy and properly primed is the big thing at this stage and, for Kerry and Limerick enthusiasts, good news is that there will again be a daily bus service to the meeting, starting in Tralee. The draw for the meeting takes place in the Horse and Jockey Hotel on January 27.
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IT is not great for the blood pressure to have your greyhound coming from behind all the time, but that’s the way Champhers Puma runs for Wayne and Norma Enright, of Tralee. It is something else the way this fellow ignites from the last bend home to turn defeat into victory, as he did in the opening A1 525 at last week’s Tuesday SIS meeting.
Champhers Puma was nicely off the pace on the back straight and fourth rounding the third bend, but, once he turned for home, the massive overdrive he possesses came into play and he swept to the front just before the finishing line for a half-length victory over Hawthorn Lucy in 28.72. The highlight of the night, definitely.
Other winners were Skips Storm, 28.94; Millridge Mick, 29.52; Ventry Music, 28.95; Oak Bank, 28.97; Millrose Star, 29.35; Feora Niamh, 29.32; Conaicview Mars, 29.73; Send It Thunder, 29.54; Sporting Leo, 29.04.
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THE betting for the Eric Browne Memorial Kingdom Derby at Tralee Track (with Paddy Power) has Ballymac Finn as the 7/4 favourite facing into the semi-finals this Friday night.
Tullig Raven and Ballymac Whispa are joint second favourites at 7/1, while the other semi-finalists are quoted at 8/1 – Disco Pants and Stream Of Sydney; 10/1 – Sunshine Dream; 12/1 -- Ballymac Bronze; 14/1 – Ballymac Bailey and Cloneden Flash; 16/1 – Burgess Darcy, Burgess Rapid and Scarty Yank.
