Only one clear favourite obliges at Tuesday SIS meeting

A VERY striking thing about the Tuesday night SIS meetings at Tralee Track is that on-line betting can boost the tote pools in a sizeable way.

So it was at last week’s meeting and this was particularly reflected in the trio and forecast dividends.

The Oakview venue is not packed out at this time of year and, indeed, the upstairs area is closed these nights. Accordingly, the regular tote customers are delighted to see the bigger pools, although picking winners at these SIS meeting, with the grading so tight, is not easy.

At last week’s Tuesday meeting, for instance, only one clear favourite obliged, which was 5/2 shot, Lispole Vinnie, in the seventh race (A4 525). A 3/1 joint favourite of three, Ballyfidora Hope, also won the fifth race (S3 325), but that was it for the market leaders.

Fastest over the standard trip on the night, on 28.75 in the ninth race (A2 525), was Shronedraugh Act, owned by Tim Kelly, of Headford. Send It Ducula was the favourite here, at 9/4, but Shronedraugh Act, a 3/1 shot, got first run on everything from trap 3 and he won a pretty tight finish by half a length from dead-heaters, Send It Ducula and Spirit Honey.

One other winner got inside 29.00 seconds and that was Headleys Belle, which upstaged the well-backed Universal Bolt (7/4 fav) in the last race ((A3 525). Headleys Belle (3/1) started smartly from trap 2 and, after stretching nicely clear by the third bend, she won by two lengths from Universal Sky in 28.96.

Other winners: Broadmill Ward, 29.95; Moneygall Mandy, 29.69; Alone Seal, 18.06; Bowline Arrow, 29.09; Ballyfidora Hope, 17.86; Baltovin Serena, 29.34; Lispole Vinnie, 29.46; Patti Da, 29.68.

SATURDAY MORNING SIS MEETING

Sign On Garfiney was going for his 12th victory of the year, but he was out of luck in the sixth race (A1 525), which was impressively won in 29.08 by the James O’Donnell-trained Lassa Excitement. Just one spot faster in the fourth race (A3 525), on 29.07, was Hawthorn Katie.

The going was .20 slow and the other winners were: Southern Spark, 29.63; Kingdom King, 29.51; Send It Zenaida, 29.36; Mohane Odie, 29.40; Ballymac Breeze, 29.36; Millridge Hero, 29.22.