Maunsell trained Goatsoul Paddy goes fastest

TRAINER Brendan Maunsell, of Abbeydorney, will always be famous for the historic English St Leger victory of Redzer Ardfert and there he was, at Tralee Track on Sunday evening, supplying the fastest winner on a ten-race programme run off behind closed doors, with just one connection per greyhound in attendance.

Brendan’s winner was Goatsoul Paddy, a February ’18 whelping jointly owned by John Nevin and Francis Clarke, of Ballinasloe. Housed in trap 4 in what was the featured eighth race (A1 525), Goatsoul Paddy was fairly closely positioned behind Loher Blake and Barnagrane Ant into the third bend and he produced a powerful finishing thrust from this point onwards to score by a length and a half from Knocktoo Ted in 28.85 (.10 slow), with two lengths back to Loher Blake.

Brendan Maunsell was going for a double in the last race with Redzer Royal, the property of Pat Reddan, of Killaloe, one of the joint owners of Redzer Ardfert (the other joint owner is Kathleen Clifford, of Ardfert), but Redzer Royal enjoyed no luck in running and finished fourth behind the impressive Oak Express.

That Ballymacelligott sorcerer, Liam Dowling, also had two runners at the meeting and, just like Brendan Maunsell, he won with one of them – Ballymac Bliss. Liam owns this lady himself and, although she found herself in trouble into the last bend in what was the seventh race (A2 525), she recovered quite magnificently and won a tremendous finish by a neck from Brindle Beauty in the second fastest time of the night – 29.03.

Liam’s other runner, Ballymac Notisme, ran into far bigger trouble in the sixth race, an open affair over the sprint distance, and he finished fifth behind a pretty decisive winner in the Spanish-owned Clochán An Aifir, which is trained in Tarbert by Patrick O’Connor and clocked 17.79 (.05 slow).

Liam, of course, is already making his mark at other tracks since the resumption of racing behind closed doors last week and, when the big ones come around, that man is going to be a powerful player again. Guaranteed.

Hell, Ballymac Bliss was bringing his haul of race wins last Sunday evening to an incredible 1,086 nationally. Not easy to digest that magnificent figure, is it?

The other Tralee winners last Sunday evening, in order, were: Tokenfire Blaze, 18.07; Lassinagh Super, 29.92; Lennys Specks, 29.41; Lone Control, 29.15; Black Secret, 29.58; Boomtown Getz, 29.22; Oak Express, 29.12.