SHE RISES HIGHEST IN BRANDYWELL DERBY DECIDER

Peter Farrell

The final of the Len McKinney Memorial & Track Lotto Brandywell Derby took place on Monday night at Derry track, and it was She Has Risen who claimed top honours for the popular Toland family of Carrigans.

A promising young lady, She Has Risen had already been on many observers’ radar following a series of eye-catching runs in defeat early in her career. She finally put all the pieces together on her sixth start, when Darren and Dean Toland sent her to Shelbourne Park. On that occasion, she came from off the pace to score in a brisk 28.85. That performance made her one of the outright market leaders heading into the Brandywell Derby, and she signaled her intentions immediately with a 29.43 return in round one. A narrow second in the semifinals followed, but it proved only a minor blip as she delivered emphatically when it mattered most.

Drawn in trap three, the daughter of Ballymac Cashout and Early Rise broke smartly and showed superior early speed to seize a commanding lead into the back straight. With three and a half lengths to spare at that point, the result was never in doubt for the Tolands’ charge, whose stamina had never been questioned. Maintaining a relentless gallop around the bottom two bends, the December ’23 whelp powered up the Derry straight to stop the clock in 29.40, which was a quick return on the night.Photo - Len McKinney presents the trophy to joint owner, Dean Toland, with Darren Toland in the centre holding She Has Risen. Also pictured is track stalwart Patsy Doyle.

***Congratulations go to Darren and Dean Toland, hugely popular figures in the North, and thanks are extended to Len McKinney and the Derry Track Lotto for their generous sponsorship of the event.***

Elsewhere on the card, there were notable displays from Titanic Brads (Deerjet Sydney – Bogger Swift), who made a winning debut for James Campbell in 16.91, while Generous Cashout, owned by Charlie Baxter, posted the quickest two-bend time of the night with a sharp 16.82 in the finale.