Faithful Linda takes second chance to claim Killeacle A1

IT is quite amazing the way things can work out on the track sometimes and one just wonders if prominent Doon, Co Limerick, doggy man, Patsy Richardson, who has enjoyed enormous success over the years, was destined to win the John and Mary Killeacle Dowling Memorial A1 570 Sweepstake (winner, €2,650) at Tralee Track after seeing his bitch, Faithful Linda, get back into the event following a miss-calculation which saw her excluded from the second round draw.

She was, you see, fifth in the first round, which normally means elimination, but two of the fastest fifths in that first round were allowed to go through to the second round and Faithful Linda should have been one of them.

It was a case of dealing with the smallest of timing fractions and an error in calculation saw another greyhound other than Faithful Linda put into the draw for the second round.

However, that error was subsequently spotted and it was rectified by having a new draw the following day. The rest, as they say, is history.

Faithful Linda went on to qualify in fourth place in the second round (behind Unleash the beast) and she then ran a very close second to Paradise Summer at the semi-final stage, beaten by just a neck in 31.21.

It didn’t look like winning form and she certainly wasn’t that strongly fancied at 5/2 in the final last Friday night, but she started far better than anything else from trap 4 and, determinedly holding the lead all the way to the line, she finished a length ahead of the strong-finishing Paradise Summer in 31.25, with a length and a half back to Jasons Fifi.

Needless to say, this victory will rank a long way behind the classics and all the high profile events that Patsy Richardson has won in his career to date and, of course, there was that night at Cork Greyhound Stadium in 2015 when he received the IGB Hall Of Fame Award, but the story of this latest victory, especially the circumstances surrounding that first-round calculation error, will be more than a little gratifying for Richardson, who had the night sweetened nicely for him by the earlier victory of another of his charges, Faithful Swank, a litter brother to Faithful Linda.

Faithful Swank (2/1) was running from trap 1 in the sixth race (A4 525) and he won by two and a half lengths from Coom Mary Mattie in 29.07.

As always, the supporting programme for the Dowling sweepstake was quite a strong one and some really good times were recorded, over both 525yds and 325yds.

Fastest over 525yds was the locally-owned Dramatic Rosie, on 28.61, while there were runs of 17.58 and 17.66 over 325yds – by Lacken Charlie and Native Treasure, respectively.

Native Treasure was actually completing a double for Castleisland trainer, Johnny O’Sullivan, who was earlier successful over 525yds with Lanody Mike (29.09), a hot 4/6 favourite.

In clocking a career best 28.61 for the standard trip, Dramatic Rosie (2/1) did so by flying out of trap 4 and, although Giovan Astral duelled with her to the third bend, Oliver Healy’s bitch drove on powerfully from this point to score by two and a half lengths from Giovan Astral.

Other winners on a night which once again redounded very much to the credit of the Dowling family were: Knocknaboul Jade, 17.88; Melodys Secret, 28.92; Pony Anna, 29.31; Ballymac Padraig, 28.84.