WIRE AND LUKE SET UP COMPETITIVE TOM FLANAGAN & JOHN KEANE MEMORIAL FINAL

Peter Farrell

The semi-finals of the Tom Flanagan & John Keane Memorial 525 were the feature on Friday night’s Galway card and with just over a length and a half separating the two heat winners on the clock, the decider promises to be a highly competitive affair in six days’ time.

The quicker of the two semi-final winners was On The Wire, who made it four career victories for owner Gerry O’Donoghue. Sent off at odds of 3/1 from a plum draw in red, On The Wire broke best of all to lead Lissatouk Robbie and Norfolkandchance on the run-up. ‘Robbie’ suffered a bump at this point, allowing On The Wire to establish a two-length advantage entering the back straight, with Norfolkandchance setting off in pursuit of the leader. The gap remained at two lengths until the three-quarter mark, where On The Wire, a son of Good Cody - Tromora Palm, found plenty more on the Galway hill to power clear for an emphatic seven-length victory in a time of 29.21 .20s. Norfolkandchance and Salsa Fire claimed the remaining qualification spots for the final.

In the second semi-final, Long Walk Luke made it two wins from his last three starts for Stephen Murray and the HVJ Syndicate. A 2/1 chance at the outset, ‘Luke’ looked to have plenty on his plate early on as he emerged last from traprise, before making swift progress on the run-up to follow Glengar Sofia into the back straight. The leader held a healthy advantage at this point, however, Long Walk Luke continued to eat into the deficit, closing the gap with every stride. With the winning line now in sight, the son of Orchestrate - Highview Audi was in full flight and he stormed past Glengar Sofia in the closing stages to seal a half-length victory over his rival. The time was 29.32 .20s, with the evergreen Springwell Eddy securing the final qualification spot.

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