NEON LIGHTS UP LIFFORD AS ROCKO ALSO IMPRESSES IN BALLYMAC OPENER

Peter Farrell

The opening round heats of the Ballymac Stud A1/A2 Trophy took place at Lifford Stadium yesterday evening and there were no shortage of top-class performances, the fastest of which came in heat two as Neon Lights got back to winning ways.

After winning two of the trot in late April at Lifford, Neon Lights was handed his first defeat last time out but it was that display which was arguably more impressive, coming from well off-the-pace to narrowly miss out in a photo finish. Confidence was still clearly high heading into last night’s contest as the Paul James-owned fawn went off the 4/6 favourite to land the spoils. Trained by Alan Byrne, the son of Ballymac Best and Ballymac Natalie looked in serious trouble early on as he slept in at traprise, allowing Old Bleach to take control from trap four. Still well adrift at halfway, Steeple Rd Joe breezed by Old Bleach at the midway point and looked a certain winner entering the penultimate turn as he manufactured a healthy lead. However, at this point Neon Lights was in full throttle and he stepped it up a notch off the final turn to storm past Steeple Rd Joe and snatch victory. A thoroughly brilliant performance from Neon Lights, three parts of a length separated the pair as the clock returned a rapid 28.75.

CLONA A LIVE CONTENDER

Heat three proved that Neon Lights won’t get everything his own way in this competition as Clona Rocko was on a par with his rival, producing a really impressive performance to score on his debut outing at Lifford.

On paper, this was the heat of the night with some serious greyhounds penciled in against one another, all capable of comfortably dipping under the 29-second barrier. As such, Clona Rocko was widely available at odds of 5/1, a price that no doubt his connections took advantage of. Trained by Micky Taggart for Daniel Kerr, Clono Rocko came away well from trap six but was forced to play second fiddle early on to Brakes Are Off, who showed the superior early pace to lead from trap five However, Clona Rocko ran a terrific opening bend to sweep up the inside of Brakes Are Off entering the back straight and within a blink of an eye, he pulled away from his talented rival in eye-catching fashion. From here, it was all one-way traffic for the son of Ballymac Bolger and Bellmore Lucy as he maintained a relentless gallop to cross with just over a length to spare, in a time of 28.82.

MAJOR BOUNCES BACK

In the opening heat of the evening, Old Fort Major got the competition off to a flier as he bounced back to winning ways for Austin and Sean Maxwell.

After an underwhelming performance last time out behind China May, the support didn’t desert Old Fort Major and he was installed as the 6/4 favourite to make amends. Running from trap four, ‘Major’ didn’t break too well from trap four and it was the usual suspect in Eager Colm who set the pace early doors from six. Joined immediately by Its My Mystery in one, Old Fort Major had at this point nestled into a close enough if good enough third and he certainly didn’t disappoint. Showing fine back straight pace, the son of Pestana and Allen Comet cranked it up a notch rounding the bottom two bends and he powered home thereafter to record a two length win over Eager Colm in second. The time was 28.99.

GREAT FROM DALE

The final heat of the evening was won in comfortable fashion by the ever-reliable Great Dale.

Jointly owned by Stephen Radcliffe and Karen McGee, Great Dale is one of the most consistent trackers in the Country and you could set your watch by this pocket-sized tracker as she once again flashed from her favoured striped jacket to leave her rivals for dust. Opening a healthy advantage down the back straight, the real battle was for the minor placings as Its My Bucks was just about clinging onto second place down the back from the advancing Crows Road in third. In terms of the winner however, this was already signed, sealed and delivered as Great Dale powered her way to a five and a half length victory. Bringing her winning tally up to double-digits, the time for the daughter of Ballymac Best and Darragh Pet was 29.08.