A GOODBYE TO THE ‘WHITE FLASH’
Ian Fortune
Ballinabola Ed was a real force on the track.
And his popularity led him to be christened the ‘White Flash’ by leading UK based race-caller Paul Lawrence. It was a name that both ideally suited and stuck with a greyhound that could really fly.
Sadly, the sensational son of Confident Rankin and Dolls Lady has run his final race. His lucky owner Brendan Murphy confirmed the news in recent days, although it doesn’t come as a surprise given he turned four years of age in June and was lightly raced over the past year.
A STAR FROM THE BEGINNING
It certainly didn’t take a genius to recognize that Ballinabola Ed was destined for stardom.
He may have been in the wars on debut in the opening round of the Juvenile Classic in early 2022 but displayed enough in his first two defeats to suggest there was a big run coming from the raw youngster.
Queue his third start, a trial stake for the Con & Annie Kirby Memorial, at Tralee. Not only did he open his account in some style but he also managed to lower the track record for the 525yd trip.
It was some way to announce your arrival on the Irish track scene but it wouldn’t be the last time he left jaws dropped in his long career.
REAL ABILITY IN HOTTER WATERS
He was thrown straight into the hot waters of the 2022 Con & Annie Kirby Memorial at Limerick and confirmed that his track record breaking run at Tralee was not a one-off.
One of the stars of the early rounds, posting 28.23 and 28.15 along the way, he would make the decider only to find bad traffic on the turn when in a challenging position.
Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be the last time he would experience bad luck in a major competition in his first season. His next two assignments were against the very best in the English and Irish Derby. By now there wasn’t a man or woman involved in the sport that didn’t know of Ballinabola Ed and his immense talent.
A DUAL DERBY FAVOURITE
Pat Buckley make the decision after his Kirby final disappointment to target the English Derby.
After three rounds of the classic, he had already been christened the White Flash and was a hot favourite for Derby glory.
But then came his luckless quarter final appearance. Finding traffic at the first, third and final turn, he narrowly lost out on a place in the semi-finals despite being the best dog in the classic.
Determined to leave their UK disappointment behind them, Pat Buckley and Brendan Murphy set their sights on an Irish Derby bid with their superstar. Again, he was brilliant in the early rounds and was again installed favourite for Derby glory only to again run out of luck. A slow start and early crowding saw him make a third-round exit.
A GREAT END TO HIS FIRST YEAR
The same fate awaited him in the Leger at Limerick but he did end the year on a high, appreciated a longer run to the corner in the Winter Racing Festival Open 575.
In the depths of winter, on a very cold evening, Ballinabola Ed left a top-class field standing to emerge a wide margin winner in a sizzling 30.72.
It was the perfect end to a truly wonderful, albeit frustrating, year. It was the first silverware he won but it was a sign of what was to come in 2023.
A CLASSIC WINNER AT LAST
After a four month layoff he returned to action at Limerick winning an open 550yd contest in style before reappearing in Dublin for the opening round of the Shelbourne Open 600 a week later. Fittingly, in one of the most popular events on the calendar, the most popular greyhound in training would be at his very best as he landed a first classic victory.
Dominant in the early rounds, clocking 32.35 and 32.17, he would tart the 1-3 favourite for the decider, but typically nothing came easy for him in the decider. Badly missing the start, he had to show stunning early speed to recover before moving to the front down the back straight.
He would eventually go on to win by a length in 32.49. It was not his great display but it gave him the classic victory his incredible talent so richly deserved.
MORE GLORY IN THE SUMMER OF 2023
He would continue to impress the following month, emerging a brilliant winner of the Race of Champions.
In the final he was just one spot off the track record, seeing off the previous year’s Oaks champion Raha Mofo by a length in a sizzling 29.23.
His 2023 record now read six wins from six starts but he was to suffer a first defeat in his next outing in the Dundalk International. In defeat he ran a remarkable race, charging to the front in the closing yards only to be short-headed by his old foe Raha Mofo.
He would have just four more starts in 2023, making an unlucky exit from the Derby in the second round, finishing midfield in the Select Stakes in the UK, while his final start of the year saw him picked up on the line by Scaglietti in the Winter Racing Festival Open 575. It was in this contest that he picked up a small injury that would plague him in the subsequent months.
ATTEMPTED COMEBACK
Despite this, he made a comeback for a crack at the English Derby and proceeded to make the quarter finals, showing plenty of his old sparkle along the way.
Ultimately, that quarter final defeat would be his final start but, at the time, we held out hopes that we would see him light up the tracks of Ireland again.
A REAL SWASHBUCKLER
It wasn’t meant to be, however.
Ballinabola Ed was like a film star from the early days of cinema. An Errol Flynn of the track scene with ‘swashbuckling’ the best way of describing his ability to excite and delight. He was a racing machine, a greyhound with a huge engine but also the early speed and class to compete with the very best over any distance.
With the news of his retirement from the track, he leaves a big hole. He was more than just a racing greyhound, he was a personality. Pat Buckley was certainly quick to heap praise on his star through his racing career and continues to do so. Said Buckley of Ed, “He was just a superb greyhound, a machine. He had everything. When you think about what he achieved in his first year. To be favourite for the English and Irish Derby after only a handful of races, it’s incredible. I just wish I had a kennel full of dogs like him.”
ALREADY A DAD
Pat went on to tell us that only this week Ballinabola Ed became a father of ten pups out of one of their own brood bitches, Ambey Bamby.
“She is an unraced daughter of Ballymac Anton and Coolavanny Pet that we bought for breeding.”
Indeed, she is a half-sister to Oaks champion Ballymac Beanie and the sensational Pestana. Pat, like other breeders will be hoping Ballinabola Ed passes on his brilliance to his progeny. He is to stand with Richard and Michael Cully of Coonough Kennels fame. If he takes to the stud game as he did the track, we’re going to be hearing far more of Ballinabola Ed in the future. Either way, it was a true pleasure to watch him race and we wish him luck in his new career. Thanks for the memory Flash!