FINAL TIME AT KILKENNY

Ian Fortune

The final of the TIME Greyhound Nutrition A3 525 is the feature of tonight’s action at Kilkenny and the destination of the €5,000 winner’s purse is something of a mystery with last weekend’s semi-finals muddying the water.

Testing weather conditions seemed to level the playing field but there’s no guarantee the track will be running as heavy this evening. Long Senorita has tremendous early speed and looks the likely pace-setter along the fence.

She isn’t a stout stayer, however, and will likely be coming back to her rivals in the latter stages. She built a clear lead last week but was picked up and beaten by eight lengths. Lemon Mundy is also capable of going up well but, he too, failed to hold on in the semis.

If he were to lead Long Senorita in the opening yards, he too could make a bold bid. Birchfield Pa and Hows Things Now will both finish well and would see their chances enhanced if conditions were to again turn up testing.

How Ye Marty and Lemon Reba complete the field and both are not without a chance. This could come down to which of the six manages to set the pace. If Long Senorita does turn in front, she could lead or a long way but she would perhaps also leave the door open for one of the big finishers to come through to score.

In what looks a wide-open contest, Birchfield Pa is selected to arrive late and fast to land the big prize for Thomas Leahy and the B-Boys Syndicate.