A special night at the track

THE Kerry Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association and the track’s Supporters’ Club came together to make Saturday night a pretty special occasion at the Oakview venue.

Topping everything was the annual awards ceremony, but three sweepstake finals and a very good supporting programme made for the very best of entertainment out on the track and it was all thoroughly enjoyed by a very sizeable crowd.

This scribe didn’t expect to be central to the awards ceremony, though I was asked prior to the event to present the Hall of Fame award to a certain individual I know well and who shall remain nameless.

What happens? Yours truly gets the Hall of Fame award himself.

Fair play to Brendan Maunsell, he set me up well, as did members of my esteemed family, but there was no mistaking the honour that was being conferred on me and I am very grateful to the Kerry GOBA and the track Supporters’ Club , as well as the management of Tralee Track, for inducting me into the Hall of Fame in succession to the first incumbent of it,

Johnny Kelly.

The beautiful Hall of Fame glass vase will certainly occupy a special place on the family sideboard.

Anyway, to events on the track itself. An eleven-race programme was headed up by three sweepstake finals and the most valuable of them was that for unraced greyhounds (ON2 class), which offered a winner’s purse of €1,000.

Steeple Rd Buddy was the 6/4 favourite, but the greyhound which had finished third to him at the semi-final stage, Crossfield Clint, upstaged him in pretty impressive fashion. Owned by Brendan O’Shea, of Millstreeet, Crossfield Clint, which was 3/1 in the betting, took a real flier from trap 3 and he was never in danger of defeat thereafter.

He held a three-length lead over Steeple Rd Buddy rounding the third bend and, although Dan Wren’s charge ran on well behind him, a length and a half separated the pair at the line in 29.06 (.10 slow), with a head back to the strong-finishing Sporting Express.

Earlier, the first of the sweepstake finals, for A6 class over the standard trip and worth €850 to the winner, was won by

Garfiney Queen, which Anthony Slattery trains locally for Michael Lynch, of Dingle.

Garfiney Queen was very much an outsider at 5/1, but she broke really well from trap 4 and, although Lissycasey Harry looked like picking her up rounding the third bend, she stuck it out really well at the head of affairs and she hit the line a length and a half ahead of Cashen Tatyana in 29.69, with a short head back to Lissycasey Harry.

The sponsors of the sweepstake were the Kerry GOBA and the track Supporters’ Club and they also teamed up to sponsor an A4 570 sweepstake which carried a winner’s purse of €900 and which was won by 6/4 joint favourite, Helenas Cillian, owned by James Lynch, of Caherleaheen, Tralee (the Kerry GOBA and the track Supporters’ Club also laid on lovely complimentary finger food for patrons).

Helenas Cillian actually broke last of the field from trap 3 and, although fourth into the third bend, he was quite a bit behind the front-running Brosna Beth. It, therefore, represented a very fine feat by him to come through and score by a length from Brosna Beth in 31.98, with a head back to Misty Handwell.

Pat McElligott, of Listowel, recorded a double in a unraced 325 sweepstake for ON2 class with litter brothers, Mischief Champ (18.14) and Baltony Boy (17.98), while the other winners were: Send It Thunder, 29.92; Seomra Berry, 29.67; Feather Breeze, 17.72; Ballymac Wisdom, 31.03 (570yds), Gulleen Harry, 29.09; Loher Blake, 28.88.

SHELBOURNE PARK

There was quite remarkable success for Kerry-owned greyhounds at Shelbourne Park on Saturday night with four of them winning first-round heats of the Best Parks Gold Cup (winner, €20,000). They were Pestana (28.49), Upward Pearl (28.58), Malachi (28.47) and Ballymac Anton (28.18). Wow to that!

SUNDAY SIS MEETING

Winners at Sunday’s SIS session on going rated .10 slow were: Dungara Brandy, 29.46; Ashwood Barry, 29.67; Millridge Tip, 28.91; Barrow Kempis, 29.30;Zug Zwang, 28.97; Ramona Recruit, 29.16; Ballyverane Boy, 29.38; Millridge Dame, 29.19.