Irish Greyhound Derby Plate round one recap
The results of the Ladbrokes.com Irish Greyhound Derby Plate’s first round from Shelbourne Park are in. Of the 36 racers, 24 will move on to the second round, the top four from each of the six heats. Round two will take place at Shelbourne Park on 28 August.
The first heat saw the fastest time of the day as Dartrey Spring won the race with a time of 29.70 seconds. Spring took the lead early and although Royal Tornado had chances to pass, Spring managed to hold on. Tornado, a joint favourite with Kingo at 2-1, finished 5 ½ lengths back in second place. Ballyman Mitsy finished in third and Kingo in fourth.
Must Be Cantona was a 7-4 favourite in the second heat but finished last. Cantona suffered an injury but was still able to finish the race with a time of 31.54 seconds. Kerrydale Farloe set the early pace and beat Tyrur Dougie by ¾ of a length. Hold On Buddy and Headleys Jake rounded out the top four.
The third heat saw favourite Westmead Bolt finish in first after trailing for most of the race. Bolt managed to beat Cartiers Dazzle by a nose with a time of 29.78, Dazzle’s time was 29.80. Kiowa Myth had every opportunity to take the lead but ended in third with a time of 29.81. Judicial Academy managed to stay in the top four after slowly fading throughout the race.
The fourth heat’s favourite, Slippery Dave, was crowded out of the pack early and dropped from second to third. St Louis Spirit won the race easily over Coolcastle Jet, beating Jet by 5 ½ lengths. Baytown Boss, who had a quick start but was badly crowded, finished in fourth.
Even odds favourite Skywalker Queen won the fifth heat easily with a time of 29.87 seconds. Queen was quick out of trap six and led for the entire race, finishing 6 lengths ahead of Three One Three. Nighthawk Boy dropped from second to third finishing 2 ½ lengths behind Three. Mustang Johnny, at 8-1, claimed the fourth spot.
At 5-4, joint favourites Ned From Donard and Ballyfeard Brave finished in the one and two positions. Ned was quick out of the traps and finished 1 1/3 lengths ahead of Brave with a time of 29.88. Brave managed to pass Black Paws Down to take second, while Black Paws held off Tyrur Lucky to keep third by only a shoulder.
The round two heats have been set with heat three seeing Ned From Donard, Skywalker Queen, and Tyrur Lucky going head-to-head from the four, five, and six traps respectively.
Heat one: 1 Ballyfeard Brave, 2 Headleys Jake 3 Nighthawk Boy, 4 Kingo, 5 Royal Tornado, 6 Mutange Johnny
Heat two: 1 Coolcastle Jet, 2 Baytown Boss, 3 Three One Three, 4 Judicial Academy, 5 Dartrey Spring, 6 Kerrydale Ferloe
Heat three: 1 Westmead Bolt, 2 Ballymac Mitsy, 3 Hold On Buddy, 4 Ned From Donard, 5 Skywalker Queen, 6 Tyrur Lucky
Heat four: 1 Black Paws Down, 2 Kiowa Myth, 3 Cartiers Dazzle, 4 Slippery Dave, 5 Tyrur Dougie, 6 St Louis Spirit
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