2016 Night of Stars

There was a terrific reaction to the fifth annual Night of Stars at Shelbourne on Saturday night when the standard of racing throughout the twelve racecard was of the very highest. For the bookmakers it was a very special night with a series of major upsets meaning that their continued sponsorship of the Track Bookmakers race was well and truly justified! The one British winner was Hiya Butt in the Chelsea Glass Lenson Sanchez 350 and trainer’s husband Mark Keightley was effusive in his reaction. “We will always be very pleased to come to the home of greyhound racing if we have a dog good enough for it. It was an unbelievable night for greyhound racing”. There was an extra element in Hiya Butt’s success as he is, of course, Irish owned by the triumvirate of Paul Ellis, Greg and Trevor O’Donnell. Hiya Butt had gone so close to winning the English Derby this year and that race is very much on the mind of JJ Fennelly who won the Boylesports 550 with Burgess Popeye. JJ, who owns the dog in partnership with his mother-in-law Sheila Spillane, said, “Popeye loves the inside, the red jacket and when he hit the front that was the key. We will put him away for the winter and he will go for the English Derby wherever it is run”. BRINKLEY’S TOUCH One suspects that the English Derby is also very much on the minds of Pat Buckley and Robert Brinkley after the magnificent performance from Droopys Wilbury as he won the Rural Hawaii @ Stud 575. The Dublin Coach Juvenile Derby winner has clearly got his breaking together and he is now a lethal cocktail. Brinkley, who generously sponsored one of the Night of Stars races, had intimated before racing that he couldn’t believe the price being offered about the dog and that he was “going to war”. Trainer Buckley has a driving ambition to win the English Derby and had the second and fourth in this year’s final. You can bet the Wilbury team will be back chasing that gold! Ballymac Matt ran a great race in second and you may not have seen the last of the great Derby champion. Said Liam, “There is plenty of racing in him yet and I have ten month old pups by him at home. We will see how they fare before we rush him off to stud”. One of the surprises of the night was the defeat of Clares Rocket by Burgess Popeye but Graham Holland reckoned he was probably one run short as he returned from injury. He missed the break but ran well in defeat and he will now have a long break with the possibility that he might go to the English Derby, depending on where it is run. Liam Dowling was again among the Night of Stars winners and also hit the bar in a few other races. His College Paradise gave a great performance when winning the Droopys Nidge 600 by six lengths and he has turned into a real bargain for the Metinthehalfway Syndicate who purchased the dog an hour before the draw was made for the Boylesports Derby. One feels we might see this fellow trying his hand over six bends next year. Meanwhile the Syndicate members were celebrating in style afterwards and one suspects that they continued in Kerry on Sunday! HONEY’S FINALE This 600 race featured the retirement of the great Ballydoyle Honey and she ran a huge race after being taken out of the race in the opening yards. Graham Holland admitted he had toyed with the idea of entering her in the Track Bookmakers 750 but said, “She hadn’t run over the distance so we kept her to the 600”. Looking at the way she finished her race Honey could have been very, very special over six bends. But she was special over all bends and she will be remembered fondly. Dowling had a real crack at the Brinkley’s Estate Bitch 525 where Ballymac Belle flew out of traps and was only collared by Holycross Leah between the final two bends. Of course Dowling had won the supporting bitch race with Ballymac Sarahjo! But what about Holycross Leah? She surely deserved to win a big prize for Mary and Gerry Melia. This is a smashing bitch and Gerry intimated that she will again be aimed at the Oaks next year and then, well, another crack at the Irish Derby would be an obvious target. But Gerry also stresses that the bitch is going to the breeding paddocks sometime next year! As for owner Mary? “I will leave it up to Gerry, he will make the decisions”. Holland actually managed to have a double and was mighty happy with the night. He was delighted with the running of Skywalker Rossa in the Ted Hegarty 850 and said, “I suppose we will have to think of the Bookmakers Marathon now. I was delighted the way she battled up the straight to hold Tradition. “ GREAT DOUBLE Holland then went on to take the BIF 525 with Riverside Oscar and this was the second leg of a great double inside a week. Oscar had won the Gain Select Stakes at Waterford the previous Saturday to bring his winnings inside a week to €23,000. Holland admitted that Oscar was probably fortunate to win as “Kilgraney Ace was travelling hard when he was baulked. But that is greyhound racing”.