Willie Joe Murphy, from Gneeveguilla, won the Matchbook Irish Leger (winner, €30,000) at Limerick on Sunday night when his amazing bitch, Bobsleigh Dream, won by three-quarters of a length from the Dolores Ruth-trained Mustang Jet in 29.84. The 11/8 favourite is trained by Pat Buckley.
here was also a Kerry victory in the Leger consolation final (winner, €2,000), with Liam Dowling’s Ballymac Whispa scoring by three-quarters of a length from Kilcolgan Zeus in 29.85.
Some county is this for delivering success in the doggy game.
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GREYHOUND Racing Ireland has announced major prize money incentives for 2023, with the biggest of them being the €50,000 on offer if the same greyhound wins the Irish Derby, the Champion Stakes and the Easter Cup, all at Shelbourne Park. Very hard to see that €50,000 being collected, though.
Eighteen events across the country are listed, but no mention of any Tralee event. The juvenile classic, in particular, should have been up there and it would have been easy to pick another event to go with it.
For instance, Racing Post Greyhound TV (RPGTV) is coming to Tralee to cover the final of the juvenile classic on March 11 and the final of the Race Of Champions on June 16 and, surely, those two events could have been coupled.
A rethink is surely required on this, is it not?
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IT is not often that you see a 7/1 outsider win like an odds-on shot, but that was the case with Baltovin Tumble at last week’s Tuesday SIS meeting. Sweetening it nicely for Kilmoyley owner, Michael Regan, was the fact that Baltovin Tumble clocked the fastest time of the night in the concluding A2 525, which was an estimated 28.89 (28.99 on going rated .10 slow).
Two other winners managed to get inside 29.00secs on estimated running, namely Call Me Quick (28.91) and Steeple Rd Milan (28.93), while there was a quickfire double in the second and third races for the Bourke family, of Castleisland, with Spruce Action (29.03) and Coolavanny Bliss (29.23).
Other winners: Send It Pine, 29.04; Oak Bank, 29.07; Brackers Hope, 29.57; Get The Facts, 29.10; Clohur Alley, 30.17.
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TRALEE Track races this Thursday night and there will be two Christmas week meetings next week – on Tuesday and Friday. January starts off with meetings on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, January 3rd, 6th and 7th.
