A WIDE-OPEN KASKO PRODUCE STAKES DECIDER IN STORE

Peter Farrell

Attention will turn to Clonmel Greyhound Stadium later this evening as the final of the €20,000 to the winner Kasko National Produce Stakes takes centre stage and Romeo Taylor will spearhead the line-up after his impressive semi final performance.

Kindly sponsored by Kasko Dog Foods, who kindly stepped in to support this prestigious Classic, they have been rewarded with a terrific decider and it is far from a foregone conclusion that Romeo Taylor will prevail, especially given the trap draw, which has saw Dave Firmager’s charge penciled in to run from a tricky trap five berth.

Indeed, Romeo Taylor, while by far the superior in terms of early speed, can ill-afford to slip-up at traprise given the draw as he could find himself in trouble should In Good Time get first run. The son of Newinn Taylor and Fabulous Mila has posted sub fifteen-second sectionals in the past two rounds and there is little doubt that a level break will see him dictate proceedings early on. Should that be the case, it will very much depend on how close his rivals are, however, ‘Taylor’ is staying on brilliantly nowadays so his chances are totally reliant on the lift of the lids. Of his rivals, kennel companion Silverhill Adam is likely to be closest in the market. Owned by Eugene Buckley, the son of Ballymac Bolger and Silverhill Joyce was a brilliant 28.51 (.10s) winner in the quarters and did superbly well to recover and qualify last time out. Again, the trap draw is not ideal for ‘Adam’, who would have much preferred a rails berth, however, he has buckets of ability and he will be a danger to all if within a couple of lengths down the back. The third of the Graham Holland runners is Romeo Kingpin, another owned by Dave Firmager. A Kirby finalist back in April, the son of Superman has failed to reproduce his Limerick form at Clonmel, however, this is testament to the greyhound that he has still managed to reach the final of the Classic. Drawn in two, this will be of benefit to ‘Kingpin’, however, he will need to rediscover his very best in order to prevail. Pat Buckley may only have one representative in the final but what a representative in the shape of Unanimouspanther. A monster 87-pounder, Ciaran O’Sullivan’s charge came in as a reserve in the opening round and it’s fair to say he hasn’t looked back since. An emphatic winner of his opening two assignments, in which he amassed a sixteen length aggregate winning margin, the son of Droopys Sydney and Mystical Moll is arguably the best drawn greyhound in the line-up in trap one. The heavyweight black has a nice turn of early speed and could be a likely leader on the fence. As a result, he has major claims of landing the spoils and he certainly has the ability to claim such a victory. The second semi final last weekend was landed by Brendan Maunsell’s In Good Time and of course Brendan has history in this Classic after Cash Is King raced to success in the not too distant past. Drawn in six, he is another that won’t be overly happy with being drawn so far out as he a bang middle runner and will need to ping out to get across Romeo Taylor, something that is definitely easier said than done. However, he is incredibly fast, as his record-breaking run in Tralee shows, and he is another that has no forlorn hope of claiming gold. The line-up is completed by the rank outsider, Quarry Boy. Owned by Paula Heffernan, the son of King Sheeran has been simply brilliant in the Classic and more than warrants his place in the decider. Pipped late on last time out when holding Hot Wood down the back, it goes without saying that ‘Boy’ will need plenty of luck, however, his forte is early speed and just maybe he could get loose early on. This is a really open affair and the best of luck is extended to connections of all six greyhounds later this evening.

SWEEPSTAKE ACTION

Elsewhere on the card, there are plenty of sweepstake finals down for decision and the first of those is the ‘Clonmel Track Members A5/A6 525’ and there will be €800 on offer to the eventual winner.

This is a quite open affair; however, the vote goes to Emers Scooby despite finishing five lengths adrift of Chesterfield Pal in the semis. On that occasion, JJ Dunne’s bitch was slowly into stride but made nice progress to pick off her runner’s and finish an eventual second. The aforementioned Chesterfield Pal is the likely favourite however, and should he come away racing will be difficult to contain. Tommys Ticker is another that didn’t enjoy a clear passage despite winning his semi final assignment and have no doubt that Pat O’Connell’s pup will go much faster with a clear passage.

The Clonmel Track Members A4 525 is next final on the agenda and €850 will await the winner of this decider.

The outside pairing of Howareyounow and Coologue Noah will likely dispute for the early lead, however, the former should have too much in that respect from trap five. A runaway semi final winner when clocking 29.22, the Maurice Organ-trained charge is a leading player, however, wouldn’t want to be slipping up at traprise. Augusta Fairway is without doubt the main threat in trap one and this daughter of Dorotas Woo Hoo is chasing a hat-trick of wins. She was mightily impressive in the semis when coming from well off-the-pace and based on that performance, she gets my vote to take home the prize.

Kindly sponsored by Ann O’Donnell, the final of the €1,500 to the winner Tom ‘Piper’ Delahunty A2 550 is sure to attract plenty of interest and it’s difficult to look beyond Ardera Freya for owner William Brennan.

A winner of the opening round in 29.84, Ardera Freya followed that up with a blistering 29.68 effort last time out and this daughter of Head Bound will take some stopping based on current form. Drawn in four, this shouldn’t hinder her chances and it would be a shock should she not prevail. Of her rivals, Scooby Camaro warrants plenty of respect for Classic winner trainer Jennifer O’Donnell, while Julies Gem is also improving at a rate of knots for Murt Leahy.

The third of the Clonmel Track Members A3 525 sweepstake finals comes in race six and Ascot Logan is the one to beat for Billy Murphy and Frances Mullan in the €900 decider.

A winner of his semi final in 28.93, the son of Laughil Blake is chasing a fifth victory from six starts and he has the perfect draw in trap one to complete this feat. Of his rivals, Sinbolina is in-form for Maurice Organ and is also well-housed to make a bold bid in three, while Foxrock Pippa also knows how to win but will need a flying start from six.

The supporting act to the Produce Stakes is the final of the Kieran Purcell Snr. Memorial Guys & Dolls 525 and there is a fabulous €1,600 up for grabs in this contest, which has been kindly sponsored by Kieran Purcell Jnr.

There is only one place to start in this final and that is with a greyhound that is likely to be the shortest priced tracker on the night. Serene Warrior posted an incredible 28.46 in the opening round and although not managing to match those types of figures last week, did extremely well to overcome a bump and draw clear to win by eleven lengths. Make no mistake, it would be a huge surprise if Michael O’Donovan’s runner doesn’t land the spoils and he has a lovely make-up in three to make-all for his owner Eddie Ryan. In terms of a nearest rival, Airfield Katie is certainly a worthy adversary as shown from her 28.71 and 28.65 displays in the earlier rounds. Drawn in six as the sole middle seed, Michael O’Meara’s bitch is in the midst of a purple patch and it will make for interesting viewing should she get first run on Serene Warrior.