The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Sweepstake semi-finals dominate Saturday card
A 12-RACE programme at Tralee Track on Saturday night was made up entirely of semi-finals of sweepstakes which will be brought to a conclusion this Friday night as part of the big fund-raiser for University Hospital Kerry and the most important semi-finals came at the very end of the programme – races 11 and 12, to be exact.
The sweepstake in question, for A4 class and bearing the title of Denny KDL Champions League, carries a winner’s purse of €1,300 and it could well be won by a greyhound running for an Abbeydorney syndicate and trained by Abbeydorney man, Brendan Maunsell.
The greyhound in question is Floury Spuds, which is making quite a healthy start to his career. He won the first round on his debut in 29.25 and he followed up last Saturday night with a run of 28.71 in beating Knockeen Bruce by two and a half lengths. That was a massive improvement of 54 spots, which represents almost eight lengths, and it makes him very much the one to beat in Friday night’s final.
The other semi-final was won by another first-round winner, Shronedraugh Act, owned by Tim Kelly, of Headford. This fellow improved from 29.21 to 29.15 and, impressively, he was gaining his third victory from just four starts in beating Melodys Vicky by a neck.
The early pace is there and he is not without a big chance in the final, the draw for which is (trap order): Melodys Vicky, Floury Spuds, Headleys Jacob, Knockeen Bruce, Shronedraugh Act, Lacey Lazer.
The way was cleared for the finals of four other sweepstakes and one of them is sponsored by McElligotts Funeral Home, Tralee, whose owner, the late Tony McElligott, loved his dog racing and was a regular at the Oakview venue. There will be nostalgia attached to the running of this particular final on Friday night.
The semi-final winners here were Barstool Babe (29.71) and Saleen Isabella (29.17), while the other sweepstake semi-final winners were: Fortfield Grace, 29.28; Plenty Of Appeal, 28.89; Kielduff Micro, 29.29; Millridge Lyric, 29.27; Millroad Susie, 29.54; Seomra Starwars, 17.97; Cape Shadow, 17.79; Light Foot Bella, 18.02.