GREYHOUND PREVIEW: Two finals either side of the Irish Sea this weekend. At Romford on Friday it’s the final of the Coral Golden Sprint. On Sunday at Mullingar it’s the final of the Irish Cesarewitch. BARRY CAUL previews the action.
Golden Sprint and Irish Cesarewitch Finals up for Grabs on Busy Weekend
A busy weekend is instore on both side of the Irish Sea this weekend. On Friday Romford have the final of the Golden Sprint. Sunday at Mullingar sees the final of the Irish Cesarewitch where defending champion Bobsleigh Dream looks to defend her title and at Shelbourne Park on Saturday it’s the opening round of the Easter Cup.
Romford Friday-Golden Sprint Final
Druids Say Go is all the rage in the market to take the 2024 Golden Sprint at Romford this Friday night after a trio of flawless performances in the previous rounds. She once again broke smartly last weekend and ran out a facile winner of her semifinal and not for the first time posted the fastest time of the round. She has drawn trap two for the second week running and will have too much early pace for the well-drawn Kila Detail in the red jacket. Seomra Paws in three has moved well to the corner in recent weeks and looks the one most likely to challenge Druids Say Go in the early part of the contest.
Supa Nova is another with an ace draw. He chased home Druids last weekend, but you feel he may need luck to turn the tables. Kila Detail is the one that could put it up to the favorite if she were to fluff her lines. He showed huge pace last weekend from a nightmare draw to beat some high-class rivals and has been handed a much better draw this time round. If he can hang on to the coat tail of Druids Say Go in the early part of the race, he could get close. However, the vote does go to Druids Say Go, she has been excellent in the competition so far and would be a deserving winner. For me she needs to make a mistake a trap rise if the others are to figure.
Cesarewitch at Mullingar
The Greyhound TV cameras will be at Mullingar again this Sunday afternoon where the midlands track host the final of the 2024 Cesarewitch over 600 yards. Classic winner Bobsleigh Dream took the event with an emphatic success last year and she once again finds herself in this year’s decider after overcoming a rough ride to gamely win her semifinal last Sunday afternoon. Pat Buckley has won this event four times in the past and as well as Bobsleigh Dream, he will also be represented by the high-class Singalong Dolly. Dolly was the fastest of the semifinal winners and despite being an inside seed the trap five draw should prove no problem for her with kennel mate Bobsleigh Dream likely to edge inwards on the long run to the corner.
Local runners Brigadier Jaxx and Ballycairn Flash both made all to win their semifinals but may need luck to land the €10,000 winner’s prize. Faypoint Angry has been handed the red jacket, well supported last Sunday he made no mistakes and came home twelve lengths clear of his nearest rival in 32:54. The only wide seed in the final Pepe Noir was another to make all stopping the clock in 32:56. Pepe is running at the top of his game at the moment and will have his supporters. If Singalong Dolly can repeat her 32:36 run from last week she will take all the beating, but she will need to do everything right against some inform rivals. It was the first time this new ‘win and you’re in’ format has been tried in Ireland. Six first round heats were run last week with only the winners of each heat making it into this Sundays final.
Easter Cup at Shelbourne
The first 550-yard classic of the season gets underway at Shelbourne Park on Saturday night. It’s usually one of the first opportunities to see what greyhounds will feature over the derby distance later in the year. Recent Gold Cup winner Boylesports Coco heads a top class entry that includes last years English Derby winner Gaytime Nemo.
Others who are sure to play a part are Clona Duke, Clonbrien Hero, Ballymac Finn and Highview Splash. Bens Teddy and De Lahdedah really caught the eye in last year’s Irish Derby, and both have strong form over the distance. Prior to the event I’ll be keen to have a wager on Pennys Lynx for Eugene Price and Irish Sprint Cup Champion Carrick Aldo is another who I think will be suited by the 550-yard trip for trainer David Murray. It’s a terrific entry and promises to be a top-class event.
