Graham Holland’s 3-year-old hound ‘Leeview Jet’ breaks his own 550 yard record at Drumbo Park
Leeview Jet broke his own 550 yards’ track record with a stellar performance in the semifinal of the Bettor.com Northern Irish Derby on Saturday 18th June 2011 at Drumbo Park. The 3-year-old won the race by seven lengths, finishing in 29.51 seconds,
to qualify for the final round of Northern Ireland’s biggest derby to be held on 25th June 2011.
Leeview Jet, trained by Graham Holland and owned by Mrs. Breda Delaney and Miss Mary Delaney, was the 4/6 favourite for the race and rightly so.
As the race began, he sprinted like a bullet from Trap 3 to finish ahead of runners-up, Cian Abbey and Rafas Wee Pet.
The son of Tucks Mein and Between The Two had set his previous track record just a week earlier in the quarterfinals of the Bettor.com Northern Irish Derby.
He won the 550 yards’ quarterfinal on 11th June 2011, beating Cian Abbey by 2 ½ lengths in a rapid 29.68 seconds to cross the finish line.
Ever since his first race in July 2009, Leeview Jet has had a spectacular racing career.
In October 2010 he became the second dog in Irish history to run 525 yards in a mere 27.88 seconds at the £6,000 Tennent’s Gold Cup final, also held at Drumbo Park.
In the first round of the same event he set another record of finishing the race in a spectacular 28.21 seconds’ run but this record was soon broken by Moral Duty.
Later in the quarterfinal and semifinal of the same tournament, he finished the distance in 28.13 seconds and 28.19 seconds, respectively.
These impressive races propelled him to the status of being known as Ireland’s fastest tracker.
Moreover he was won 21 of his last 29 races, one of the highest winning figures in greyhound racing history.
In next Saturday’s final of the Bettor.com Northern Irish Derby, Leeview Jet will face Francie O’Brien’s Loughview Gem, who won the second semifinal by two lengths, finishing the race in 29.79 seconds.
The two dogs faced each other at Drumbo Park on 4th June 2011 as well, and Leeview Jet defeated Loughview Gem, crossing the line in 30.01 seconds.
Will history repeat itself to show Leeview Jet being the faster of the two or will Loughview Gem topple Leeview Jet’s winning spree to avenge being beaten in the last race, is yet to be seen.
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