Semi-final of Betfair Pall Mall- Pams Tomjo remains unbeaten; Ballymac Ace qualifies for final too
The much awaited semifinals of the Betfair Pall Mall were held at Oxford on Thursday, 23rd June 2011, at a packed stadium. Although there were three semifinals with six runners each, undoubtedly the most talked about competitors of the evening
were reigning champions, Ballymac Ace and Brian Clemenson's so-far unbeaten, Pams Tomjo.
Competing in Heat 1 were Buzz Doc, Spencers Lad, Jolly Poacher, Zodiac Zeus, Slick Signature and Dromana Max.
This first semi final started at 20:05 and saw some great effort on part of Dromana Max who got a challenging time from Buzz Doc at the last bend.
Both of them qualified for the final.
Zodiac Zeus and Slick Signature, both, indulged in a private battle but were never fast enough to overcome the winners.
The race was horrible for Spencers Lad who bumped into Jolly Poacher and then later into the rail.
Heat 2, starting at 20:50, was a very competitive one with stars such as Brittons Empire, Little Sensation, Hello Dino, Romeo Reason, Aherlow Shaw and Fifis Whitesox.
Three of these, namely Brittons Empire, Romeo Reason and Fifis Whitesox, were Derby heat winners as well, making them strong competitors.
Brittons Empire was the initial pace-setter for the race but Aherlow Shaw got ahead at the last bend and won.
Fifis Whitesox and and Romeo Reason ran a commendable race but Aherlow Shaw and Brittons Empire were the ones that qualified for the final heat, leaving the other two Derby winners disappointed.
Heat 3 at 21:35 featured Ballymac Ace, Manolla Flash, Adams Honour, Perilous Guide, Pams Tomjo and Slick Stone.
This was indeed the most competitive heat as it featured the only hound that had remained unbeaten in all the previous heats, Pams Tomjo.
It also featured last year’s winner, Ballymac Ace, who won this heat alongside Pams Tomjo.
Pams Tomjo, trained at Hove, won the race in 27 seconds, while Ballymac Ace finished second.
Adams Honour tried to get ahead of Pams Tomjo at the final bend and they even bumped into each other but Adams Honour was unable to provide any substantial challenge to Pams Tomjo.
Both Pams Tomjo and Ballymac Ace qualified for next week’s final.
Hence, the semifinals ended but anticipations for the final of the Betfair Pall Mall on Tuesday 28th June 2011 is soaring sky high.
The final will feature Ballymac Ace, Brittons Empire, Buzz Doc, Pams Tomjo, Aherlow Shaw and Dromana Max.
Will history repeat itself for Ballymac Ace or will Pams Tomjo’s winning spree continue? Or will both the stars get toppled by another constellation?
All of this and much more will unfold next Tuesday at the Final.
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