Jaytee Geronimo reigns supreme in stakes final

THERE WAS a very good crowd in attendance at Enniscorthy Greyhound Track on Thursday night for the final of the April Stakes.

It was a gala race night in aid of Bree soccer club, and it was a very enjoyable night for all. The April Stakes was won in brilliant fashion by the Paul Hennessy-trained Jaytee Geronimo who flashed from traps and was a very impressive trap to line winner from his kennel mate, Zack Of Hearts, who just held off the finishing run of Mikey Blue in a superb time of 28.66.

Geronimo was winning his fourth race from ten starts and his most important so far.

The Dinny Byrne Memorial Stake also continued with the second round run, and some nice runs were recorded here also. With heat winners closely matched, there will be some good racing in this Thursday night’s semi-finals.

Monday night saw the complete first round of the Fawn Tango Unraced Stake, and there was again a very good crowd out to see the youngsters put through their paces.

Trainer Eugene Gleeson (Monamolin) had a perfect night, winning the first two heats when Elusive Rocket overcame the tricky trap six box to score by the minimum distance in 29.35, while his second winner, Monamolin Bolt, impressed when going up from his trap one box to score snugly in 29.14. He looks a nice prospect.

The Patrick Mullett-owned St Mullins Lad ran a very determined race in heat four and, after a battle with Sand Hawk down the back, he came away to score in a time of 29.22.

Heat seven saw the fastest heat winner when Ulysses was impressive when racing home six lengths clear of his field in a very good 28.91. This October 2016 dog looks a really nice prospect.

Heat eight went to the Seán Barnes-owned Bounceback Betty who showed a nice change of gears down the back straight to race to an eye-catching 29.06 win.

This week’s second round will be very interesting to see how these youngsters will progress. The second round can tell a different story as novices that got trouble and made mistakes can improve greatly from their first outing.

The John Cood and Diana Brody (Enniscorthy)-owned and trained Cushie Jet has set the standard in the opening rounds of the Red Mills Champion Unraced Stake at Kilkenny.

And last Friday night he raised the bar to a new height when scorching to a brilliant 28.43 semi-final victory.

Although a trap six draw in the final will be a new test, along with three Droopys and two Ballymacs inside him, it will be his biggest test in his young career, but Jet has the gears to overcome and lift the €10,000 prize.

May 14 results - race one, The Fawn Tango Unraced Sweepstake round one, heat one: 1, Elusive Rocket (owners, Philip Ryan and Eugene Gleeson, Co. Carlow), 29.35; 2, Notorious Nodrog, 29.36.

Race two, heat two: 1, Monamolin Bolt (owners, Edward Mulvaney and Eugene Gleeson, Co. Carlow), 29.14; 2, Kiltrea Shay, 29.28.

Race three, heat three: 1, Sirius Fantasy (owner, Tony McCarthy, Co. Kilkenny), 29.36; 2, Cill Dubh Con, 29.38.

Race four, heat four: 1, St Mullins Lad (owner, Patrick Mullett, Co. Carlow), 29.22; 2, Sand Hawk, 29.32.

Race five, heat five: 1, Cill Dubh Chief (owner, Michael Bergin, Co. Kilkenny), 29.46; 2, Its Logical, 29.74.

Race six, heat six: 1, Nans Padjoe (owner, Mary Whittle, Co. Waterford), 29.08; 2, Bisto Majestic, 29.11.

Race seven, heat seven: 1, Ulysses (owners, Robert Ayres and Leonard O’Hanlon, Co. Donegal), 28.91; 2, Sanctuary Love, 29.33.

Race eight, heat eight: 1, Bounceback Betty (owner, Seán Barnes, Wexford town), 29.06; 2, Aclamon Fab, 29.27.

May 17 results - race one, The Bree United Soccer A5 525 Stakes: 1, Rains Tom Boy (owner, Noel Freeman, Enniscorthy), 29.44; 2, Liams Choice, 29.51.

Race two, The Dinny Byrne Memorial A5/6 Stake, heat one: 1, Spot Me Rocket (owner, John Hand, Dublin), 29.18; 2, Hillburn Tiny, 29.60.

Race three, heat two: 1, Ontheverge (Tommy Mahoney, Barntown), 29.28; 2, Mangan Boy, 29.45.

Race four, heat three: 1, Milford Train (Michael Comerford, Co. Carlow), 29.13; 2, Black Jet Hawk, 29.27.

Race five, heat four: 1, Oxtail Oscar (owner, James Whelan, Co. Wicklow), 29.22; 2, Nothingtosay, 29.36.

Race six, The Bree Gala Race Night Sprint Stakes: 1, Duffry Gate Roy (owner, Alex Cooney, Enniscorthy; trainer, James Nolan, Enniscorthy), 18.87; 2, Slaneyside Keyes, 18.97.

Race seven, The 2018 April Stakes final: 1, Jaytee Geronimo (owner, John Turner, Swindon; trainer, Paul Hennessy, Co. Kilkenny), 28.66; 2, Zach Of Hearts, 29.01.

Race eight, The All Square at Half Time Stakes: 1, Our Decision (owner, Francis Kent, Co. Wexford), 29.38; 2, Mikeys Daddy, 29.39.

Race nine, The Long Ball Tactics 575: 1, Home Hunter (owners, Rathoe Raiders syndicate, c/o John Roche), 31.73; 2, Tomahurra Dash, 31.94.

Race ten, The Penalty Shoot Out 575: 1, Tullycanna Dot (owner, Joe Anglim, Tullycanna), 31.64; 2, Flying Lola, 31.66.