SAKINA A MUM AS WE READY OURSELVES FOR SILLY SEASON
Ian Fortune
The rumours are already doing the rounds about a few flying machines trialing ahead of silly season.
Of course, the “silly season” I’m referring to is not Christmas and New Year but rather the Unraced season which will commence soon after the start of 2024.
More and more, the best greyhounds in training begin their career in Juvenile Classic at Tralee, the Rural Kennels Unraced at Clonmel or the Brownstown Tango and NTSC Open Bitch unraced at Newbridge. Those that are a little younger hold off for the Michael Fortune Memorial and Future Champions unraced at Enniscorthy, the Champion Unraced at Kilkenny of the RCETS Open Unraced at Shelbourne.
The format is there for all to see. It’s a well beaten path and every owner, breeder, trainer or kennel hand dreams of having one good enough to run in one of the many Open unraced stakes before forging a path to potential greatness.
Look back on recent years, the list of greyhounds that have emerged from one of the many unraced competitions in the opening half of the year is a catalogue of true champions.
SAKINA A MUM OF EIGHT
And that brings us nicely along to one that certainly made her name in one of said unraced competitions.
Slick Sakina captured the Brownstown Tango & NTSC Open Bitch Unraced at Newbridge in early 2022.
Known as Tullymurry Faith in those early days, she was brilliant through the stake before landing the final in 28.61. It was her final ever start in Ireland as she went on to establish herself as one of the biggest names in the UK, capturing the 2022 English Oaks and then beating the boys in the Eclipse.
Well, her racing career ended during the summer and she recently had her first litter of five dogs and three bitches. Sakina’s owner Keith Allsop is no stranger to big success on the track. Aside from owning Slick Sakina, he also owned Thorn Falcon, the 2021 English Derby champion.
That perhaps influenced his choice of sire for Slick Sakina, Dorotas Wildcat. The brilliant 2018 Derby champion was the sire of Thorn Falcon and, like Slick Sakina, also captured the Eclipse Stakes.
The litter were whelped down by Willie Rigney, who reports the pups as thriving at his Co Tipperary base. Said Willie of the litter of eight, “They look fantastic and mum is doing a grand job.”
Rigney added: “Sakina won the English Oaks and the Wildcat won the English Derby as well as being a Greyhound of the Year in the UK, so you could say it’s a match made in heaven!
“The pups were born a couple of weeks ago and will be here for a while. I know Keith’s looking forward to seeing how they progress - hopefully as well as mum and dad!”