AVENUE QUEEN REIGNS SUPREME IN MERLIN BAR DECIDER

Peter Farrell

While the Connacht Derby final understandably took centre stage at Galway Greyhound Stadium on Saturday night, there were several quality supporting contests on the card, chief among them the €2,500-to-the-winner Merlin Bar A2/A3 Bitch 525 final, which was won in emphatic fashion by Avenue Queen.

Kindly sponsored by the Merlin Bar, the competition had proven ultra-competitive through the earlier rounds. However, the decider itself was anything but, as Avenue Queen dominated from the outset to complete a clean sweep in the stake for the June puppy.

Owned by Brian Robinson, who made the long journey from County Tyrone for each of the past three weekends, Avenue Queen had already shown her liking for the Connacht circuit with several impressive displays in the earlier rounds. She saved her best for last, however, dipping well under the 29-second barrier to underline her superiority throughout the event.

Drawn ideally in trap two, the 5/4 favourite had been forced to come from off the pace in the semi-finals, but she showed she possesses a sharp break when it mattered most, producing a slick 3.30 sectional to lead in the early exchanges. Holding the inside line, ‘Queen’ quickly doubled her advantage to three lengths passing the sprint box and, barring incident, the result already looked a formality. In behind, Jasmine Coco improved nicely into second, but she had no answer to the daughter of King Elvis and Avenue Ana, who stayed on strongly in her customary fashion to cross the line six lengths clear. The winning time was a blistering 28.89 .10s, further cementing her status as the standout performer in the stake.

HUDSON ASSERTS IN 1XBET TOUR SERIES SEMIS

There will be another big prize on offer next weekend at Galway Greyhound Stadium as the €5,000-to-the-winner 1XBet Tour Series A3 525 final takes centre stage. Hudson will head into that decider as the one to beat after producing a blistering display in last night’s semi-finals.

Trained by Pat Norris for Mark Lowther, Hudson had previously caught the eye with some huge finishing efforts over the 400-yard trip at Dundalk Stadium. Although he failed to fire on his return to four bends last weekend, he put matters right in emphatic fashion to justify his 1/2 favouritism. Drawn in trap five, the son of Droopys Sydney and Singalong Sally broke sharper on this occasion, slotting into second on the run-up behind Kirk Michael in trap one. Closing rapidly on his rival approaching the penultimate bend, Hudson shifted gears in impressive style around the bottom two turns before powering clear in the straight. In the end he sealed a commanding nine-and-a-half-length victory over Cillowen Vortex in second, with the clock stopping at a rapid 28.86 .10s.

In the opening semi-final, Gealltanas Jack made it two wins on the bounce for the Feel-Good Racing Syndicate at Galway Greyhound Stadium.

Drawn in trap four, ‘Jack’ was spring-like at trap rise, bolting clear in the early strides to lead Grangeview Scoob on the run-up. The latter was luckless at the opening bend, however, and Gealltanas Jack soon found himself joined by Hollywell Raptor, who was applying strong pressure at the halfway stage. Despite briefly surrendering the lead, Gealltanas Jack showed plenty of resolve in the closing stages, powering back to the front to seal a two-and-a-half-length success. The winning time was 29.08 .10s.

ELLIOT STRIKES LATE IN I.R.G.T NOVICE DECIDER

The final of the I.R.G.T ON2/3 525 also featured on the card at Galway Greyhound Stadium and it went the way of Gerry Dillon’s Annadown Elliot, who prevailed by the narrowest of margins following a judge’s call.

An impressive winner in each of the previous rounds, maintaining his unbeaten record in the process, Annadown Elliot appeared to have plenty to do in the decider as he turned the opening bend with four lengths to make up on the leader, Brickhill Patsy. However, eating into the deficit around the bottom two bends, the son of Grangeview Ten and Annadown Cutie rallied strongly up the Galway hill to just get the better of his rival in the final stride. A short-head separated ‘Elliot’ from ‘Patsy’ at the line, with the clock stopping at 29.50 .10s.