McCALMONT CUP FIELD TO BE HALVED FOR FINAL TIME AT KILKENNY

Ian Fortune

Twelve will become six at Kilkenny this evening as the McCalmont Cup continues with two wonderful semi-finals.

As we have come to expect, the action through the famous competition has been hugely competitive and nothing can be taken for granted in tonight’s two cracking contests.

BRO GETS THE NOD IN ULTRA-COMPETITIVE CONTEST

The opening heat is incredibly tight.

Murt Leahy is seeking a fourth win in the competition and is represented by the in-form Droopys Bro. he is one of three runners left in the stake to have gone unbeaten in the first two rounds but a trap five draw is set to test him this evening.

Capable of a flying start, he could soon make light work of the draw but it narrows the margin for error considerably. Kapuka Warrior is an obvious threat. He too won his two assignments to date in the stake and has a slightly better draw in three. The Karol Ramsbottom trained son of Good News overcame early traffic in both starts and is certainly capable of improving on recent clocks. He may need to.

Quarry Boy and Lemon Mundy on the inside of the track will both attract support and, if either were to find themselves in front, they would take some catching.

Southwood Stan has yet to repeat his best 2024 form this year and faces a tough draw in four. He needs to find a bit on recent efforts to threaten, while the same can be said for Kilgraney Run in six.

Slight preference is for Droopys Bro but he needs to be foot-perfect in the opening strides. Kapuka Warrior and Lemon Mundy are nominated as the main dangers. 

NEWS TO MAKE HEADLINES

Lotto Other News is a certain favourite in the second semi-final.

An impressive trap to line winner in the second round, setting the standard with a 28.97 return, he has been handed an ideal draw on the fence and is set to dominate. Picking out one to press him is difficult.

Burgess Canon and Lemon Ted will both stay on strongly and, if turning close, could have a say. Abigails King needs to be at his sharpest from two but could race prominently into the turn, while Ballymac Deboss would have strong claims if returning to his best 2024 form. Unanimous Jax completes the line-up and has a very tricky draw in the stripes top overcome.

Preference is for Lotto Other News with the Shaun Conway trained star chosen to make every inch at the expense of Burgess Canon and Lemon Ted.