Niamhs Big Mike is fancied to win Listowel CC buster final

THE fact that the enterprising Listowel Coursing Club is associated with the final of a valuable open 525yds buster sweepstake (winner, €1,000) is sure to bring a big crowd to Tralee this Friday night and those who turn up are likely to have the added bonus of being able to see first-round heats of the Red Mills Open Unraced Bitch Sweepstake which weren’t run last Friday night because the entry of 18 hadn’t filled at that stage.

The semi-finals of the Listowel Coursing Club Sweepstake were run off at the Oakview venue last Friday night and it has to be said that three really good winners emerged in Niamhs Big Mike, Sign On Aki and Lee Smasher.

Niamhs Big Mike is entitled to be the first of the winning trio to be named simply because he clocked the fastest time of 28.72 (.10 slow) in the third semi-final, and the manner in which he did so from trap 4, as 6/4 favourite, will surely see him sent off favourite again from a trap 2 draw in this Friday night’s final.

Owned by Paddy Purtill, of Lisselton, Niamhs Big Mike set himself up for victory with the slickest of start and this, allied to superb early pace, enabled him to clear the opening bend ahead of Allaghaun River and Lassa Excitement.

That was the deal done and dusted, as good as anyway, and he sailed home three lengths ahead of Allaghaun River, which was his main market rival at 2/1.

Lassa Excitement was only half a length behind Allaghaun River in third place, but, it being an 18-greyound sweepstake with three semi-finals, only the first two qualified.

Turning to the victory of Sign On Aki, he, too, was sent off favourite, at 7/4, from a trap 5 draw in the first semi-final, but things were nothing like as clearcut here and, indeed, Anthony Slattery’s charge was only adjudged the winner after a thrilling photo- finish with Nicholas Dowling’s Cosard Jet.

Sign On Aki achieved the best of starts from trap 5 and led off the first bend from Send It Hobbs, but Cosard Jet, with plenty of experience in the Irish St Leger behind him, loomed up as a big threat rounding the third bend, where he didn’t have the clearest of runs on the outside of Send It Hobbs.

Cosard Jet, known for his finishing strength, still contested really well with Send It Aki coming home, but Anthony Slattery’s charge, a winner the previous Saturday night in an estimated 28.63, managed to hold on for a short-head victory in 28.79, with two and a half lengths back to Send It Hobbs.

The remaining semi-final, the second, saw the Ger Reidy-trained Lee Smasher click at odds of 2/1 from a trap 1 draw. Despite giving a head-start to just about all of his rivals and remaining nicely off the pace, as well as being fairly inconvenienced rounding the third bend when making a challenge, he finished with the proverbial wet sail on the rails to score by two lengths from Promising, with a neck back to the front-running Rallying Jet.

Everybody knows about the marvellous strike rate of Ger Reidy at the Oakview venue and it will be no surprise if Lee Smasher wins this Friday night’s final for him from another trap 1 draw. However, this is a final which can be won by any of six very worthy finalists and, based on semi-final running, the nod goes to Niamhs Big Mike.

The draw is (trap order): Lee Smasher, Niamhs Big Mike, Allaghaun River, Sign On Aki (M), Cosard Jet (W), Promising (W).

On last Friday night’s supporting card, there were really good runs of 28.74 and 28.79 by Toast Of Adare and Rallying Dawn, respectively, while the other winners were: Greenway Chaser, 18.10; Walkofshame, 30.05; Ballymac Razzler, 18.19; Superior Lady, 29.76; Kilcow Amy, 29.74.

• The going was .10 slow for all 525yds races and .05 slow for the two 325yds races.