Upsets at the third round of Irish Greyhound Derby
The third round of the Irish Greyhound Derby was held at Shelbourne Park Saturday night. The action was intense as Tyrur Big Mike came in with the fastest time of 29.4s, and two favourites were knocked out. Big Mike is one of the favourites to win the Derby and the stunning upsets of Makeshift and Farley Blitz has Big Mike pulling away from the pack. The top three from each race advanced to next week’s semi-final heats.
Last year’s Irish Greyhound Derby Plate winner, Thurlesbeg Joker, couldn’t catch up to Kinda Ready in the first heat after getting off to a slow start. Ready was quick out of the gates and held the lead for the entire race winning with a time of 29.70s. Tyrur Richie finished in third, just nosing out Milly Marina. Clonkeen Stan finished in fifth and Burn Em Up did not race.
The second heat saw joint favourites, Mesedo Blue and Razldazl Lord, finish first and third respectively. Blue was quick to start and didn’t give in to a pressing Westmead Grant, who finished ¾ lengths behind Blue for second. Fatboyz Tyson, Tyrur Bucko, and Jonny Whitesox finished in the fourth, fifth, and sixth spots.
Tyrur Big Mike’s impressive run was in the third heat. Mike led early but Definate Opinion, who finished second, had chances to take the lead. Colorful Champ took third while Monleek Bay, Jim Said So, and Cookies Fantasy took the bottom three spots.
Hats My Boy won the fourth heat by four lengths over Krug Ninety Five. Ninety Five nudged out Whatsupjack for second by ½ a length. Race favourite Cabra Legend (6-4) finished in fourth, Dream Walker took fifth and Highview Shadow was last.
In the fifth heat, Farley Turbo, a 5-4 race favourite and one of the favourites to win the Derby, finished in fourth place after being crowded early in the race. Tullymurry Act won with a time of 29.71s. The big surprise of the day was Freedom Seacrest (10-1) and Dromore Hero (12-1) finishing in the second and third spots. Forest Rover, another victim of early crowding, finished in fifth and Local Dee Jay finished last.
Huge favourite, Makeshift, finished fifth in the sixth heat. Tyrur Mcguigan won the race easily, with a time of 29.84s, as the final five finished in a crowd. Killacolla Glory took second by ½ a length over third place, Ballymac Under, who beat fourth place, Wise Signal, by ¾ lengths. Makeshift lost to Signal by a shoulder and Hare Mack, in last place, was a length behind Makeshift. It was an exciting finish that saw only a difference of 0.18sec between second and last.
In the seventh heat, 6-4 race favourite, Tyrur Enda, lost by a shoulder to Barefoot Bullet. Oran Jaguar, a 10-1 underdog, took third over Ballymac Tipp by four lengths. Lassa Extreme was fifth and Hipower Turbo came in last.
The final heat saw 14-1 underdog, Foyle Storm, lose the lead to Monlesa Alsation late in the race. Blazers Black beat race favourite, Farley Blitz, by ¾ lengths to take third and pull off the second big upset of the day. Air Force Hawk took fifth and Shaneboy Flash finished last.
Next Saturday will feature both the fourth round of the Irish Greyhound Derby and the second round of the Irish Greyhound Derby Plate. The round four race cards are as follows:
HEAT 1
1 Colorful Champ
2 Whatsupjack
3 Tyrur Enda
4 Ballyac Under
5 Monlesa Alsation
6 Barefoot Bullet
HEAT 2
1 Blazers Black
2 Freedom Seacrest
3 Foyle Storm
4 Razldazl Lord
5 Krug Ninety Five
6 Tyrur McGuigan
HEAT 3
1 Kinda Ready
2 Tyrur Big Mike
3 Thurlesbeg Joker
4 Killacolla Glory
5 Mesedo Blue
6 Westmead Grant
HEAT 4
1 Oran Jaguar
2 Definate Opinion
3 Tullymurry Act
4 Hats My Boy
5 Tyrur Richie
6 Dromore Hero
Tags: