Fast breaker Glynnscross Jake fancied to win Kingdom Derby
JUST one more roll of the dice, as it were, to decide where the winner’s purse of €7,500 in the Tilemaster Kingdom Derby will wind up. It has been an absolutely fabulous event, so very competitive at every stage, and everybody agrees that no matter what happens in the final at the Oakview venue this Friday night, a very worthy winner will emerge.
Owen McKenna is going for successive victories with Holycross Lad, a powerful double hand is held by Cork trainer Kieran Lynch, with Glynnscross Jake and God Of Fire, the fastest semi-final winner Braveheart Bobby is a very powerful challenger from Newcastle West, and completing the magnificent six are Kerry runners Akelawre and Loher Grove.
Akelawre, of course, represents Liam Dowling and Loher Grove represents Noel O’Leary, who is having a terrific year at the Oakview venue with members of the Laughil Blake – Loher Baby litter; indeed, Loher Storm, a litter sister to Loher Grove, won the semi-final of a Tilemaster open 525 sweepstake in 28.51 just a quarter of an hour before Loher Grove went to traps.
Liam Dowling qualified three for last Friday night’s semi-finals, but one of them, Ballymac Anton, was withdrawn from the first semi-final, and Chespirito, the 5/4 favourite in that first semi-final, was beaten into fifth place behind Braveheart Bobby.
Akelawre, though, is well capable of pulling it off on Friday night for Liam Dowling, though the general belief is that it is harder now than before (with the Harolds Cross traps in place), to win from the box he occupies, which is trap 1. Loher Grove runs from trap 5.
Anyway, let’s put the focus on last Friday night’s semi-finals and, on going rated the now familiar .10 slow, the first of them was won in quite stirring fashion by Braveheart Bobby, owned by Darren McCoy, of Newcastle West.
The Neilus O’Connell-trained Sawdust Club, as more or less expected, flew out of trap 2 and he led off the first bend from Braveheart Bobby and God Of Fire. These three were locked together rounding the third bend and Braveheart Bobby was to powerfully surge to the front, with Sawdust Club thrown back, and the September ’16 son of Secreto and Leigh Fancy, which was 3/1 in the betting, drove home five lengths ahead of God Of Fire in a quite fabulous 28.34, with a length back to Loher Grove, which picked up really well from the back of the field.
The second semi-final was about Kieran Lynch’s Glynnscross Jake from start to finish. Being the only middle or wide seed left, he was guaranteed trap 6, as is, of course, the case in the final as well, and he fairly powerfully outpaced his rivals on the run to the first bend, leading off it from Akelawre and Holycross Lad. He was most definitely not for catching after that and he raced home a length and a half ahead of Akelawre in 28.50, with three lengths back to Holycross Lad.
The first three were 2/1 joint favourites and that tells you about the sharpness of the two bookmakers operating at the meeting, Berkie Browne and Kieran Bourke.
So to the final this Friday night. It would be great to see either Liam Dowling or Noel O’Leary pull it off for Kerry, but one suspects that victory will go to one of the two semi-final winners and, even though he was 16 spots behind Braveheart Bobby last Friday night, preference is for Glynnscross Jake – quite simply because of the way he can run to that first bend from his outside draw.
Make that first bend at Tralee in front, especially with a good one, and you’re usually smiling come the finishing line. Friday night will tell all.
The draw for the final is (trap order): Akelawre, Braveheart Bobby, Holycross Lad, God Of Fire, Loher Grove, Glynnscross Jake (W).
A GREAT supporting programme will back up the Tilemaster Kingdom Derby final, including a number of other sweepstake finals carrying the name of Tilemaster. The way was actually cleared for two of those sweepstakes on Friday night and the draws for them worked out as follows (trap order):
Tilemaster A0 525 final: Lassa Exquisite, Toast Of Adare, Loher Storm, Ballymac Tabor, Millridge Blitz, Misty Supreme (W).
Tilemaster A5 525 final: Sporting Cisano, Helenas Cillian, Saleen Grace, Forceful King, Greenway Chaser, Abbey Paradise.
Other winners on Friday night were Russmur Marie, 29.62; No More Mondays, 18.13; Forceful King, 29.62; Helenas Cillian, 29.47; Greenway Chaser, 29.36; Knockunder Brody, 18.07; Ballymac Tabor, 28.62; Loher Storm, 28.51; Palatine Magic, 29.22.
The going was .10 slow for all 525yds races and .05 slow for the two 325yds races.