Thurles Greyhound Stadium

Roscrea’s Ring Master is no circus act at Thurles

A hugely consistent performer who has been contesting in warm company since his novice stake victory at Limerick to start his career, Paul Brussells’s Ring Master (Sparta Maestro-Wrathchild) had frustratingly filled second position in five of his latest six outings but returning to Thurles on Saturday, scorched back to winning ways in a sublime 570 yard success.

Feature of the card in A1 grade, the Roscrea charge was back to his best breaking form and free to gallop on the long run to the first bend from Trap 5, forged a two length lead before sweeping the turns at pace from a wide position. Settling the race with a powerful gallop all along the backstraight, Ring Master saw out the extended four bend trip stoutly for a two and a half length verdict in a fast 31.24 (-40).

A seventh race win, that winning time represents his best career performance and he will now be obliged to once again contest at the highest level of racing next time. That level will hold little fears for the Brussells charge however who further strengthens the breeding credentials of his brilliant dam, as another top-grade racer for Wrathchild (Ballymac Maeve-Bower Kate), who gave us one of racing’s greatest sprint talents in Rosbirr Ranger.

The 2020 renewal of the IGOBF National Puppy 525 Stake has been a sizzling affair at Shelbourne Park over recent weeks and advancing to this coming Saturday’s final, the Pat Guilfoyle trained Explosive Boy (Good News-Delightful Girl) registered an astounding semi-final victory when battling bravely through repeated bumping in the early stages.

Having chased home highly touted hotpot Ballymac Ariel in the opening round, the 28.32 debut winner held every chance from Trap 2 but with Jet Stream Emma making a determined drive for the outside from Trap 1, the Peter Sutcliffe owned Explosive Boy suffered significant bumping and crowding before even gathering stride.

Remarkably back on an even keel and recovering ground on the run to the bend, the Guilfoyle pup was again bumped as rivals swept the turn from his outside but admirably holding strong on the rail, he would in fact threaten to strike the front before again bumped. Finally securing racing room at the top of the backstraight having been shuffled back to over a length adrift in second, Explosive Boy switched to the outside before setting sights on pacesetting Crossfield Feena to halfway. Almost drawing alongside that rival at the closing bends, a protracted tussle to the line saw Explosive Boy secure victory by the narrowest of margins in a thrilling, if turbulent, photo-finish verdict.

A winning time of 28.97 can be largely dismissed in terms of calculating form ahead of the final, such was the messy nature of the race and Explosive Boy remains capable of significantly lowering that clock if securing clear passage. Ballymac Ariel scored a two length victory over Billys Diva while posting 28.09 in the opposing semi, emphasising just how hot the event has been but a hugely exciting prospect, the Guilfoyle pup remains a big player from Trap 2 this week having displayed all the battling attributes of his brilliant sire in this latest victory.

On a busy weekend for the Guilfoyle kennels, we had of course been hoping to report on another classic success for Moneygall as Amazing Alice contested the final of the Irish St Leger on Saturday but housed in Trap 3, a blistering beginning from Epic Hero to her inside saw our local hope led in the early stages before denied racing room at the opening bend.

In a brilliant final display, Epic Hero dominated the €30,000 showdown for trainer Thomas O’Donovan as he led home Cash Ready by three lengths in an exceptional 29.44 for the 550-yard classic trip.

Defending the Industry

Drawing the classic campaign to a close for 2020, the St Leger concluded in front of empty stands at Limerick amidst a subdued atmosphere in what has been a strange season for racing. Grateful to be able to compete however, the build up to the St Leger final was interrupted last week as the greyhound fraternity were the subject of a bemusing campaign from the Social Democrat Party while seeking to advance their motion to defund the sport.

Submitted by Holly Cairns, she like any elected TD has every right to forward whatever motion she sees fit but the greyhound community would ask that in doing so she would be factual, truthful and desist from portraying an entire industry in a bad light on assertions she knows to be untrue.

Claiming that greyhound racing is inherently cruel, Miss Cairns failed to acknowledge that because of the sport, greyhounds remain the only properly regulated breed of dog in Ireland and far ahead of regulation in the wider pet dog community with figures from the ISPCA for 2018 & 2019 making for stark reading in terms of untraced breeding.

Repeating widely disputed assertions made in a Prime Time documentary, which appeared to be her sole source of education on the entire industry, Miss Cairns advanced her motion following an increase in funding to €19.2 million for 2021.

At every turn Miss Cairns claimed this funding as tax-payers money in what can only be described as an attempt to dupe the voting public for she knows where the funds actually come from. Under the Horse And Greyhound Racing Act of 2001, the sport receives it’s annual state allocation from the Horse & Greyhound Fund which is financed from betting levies, monies that wouldn’t exist without the sports in the first place. So, getting back a share of funds that is generated from within the industry and with an overall contribution of over €300 million to the exchequer annually, the claims made by Social Democrats that greyhound racing costs the taxpayer, are simply wrong!

Exercising a penchant for drama ahead of last Wednesday’s vote on the motion, Holly Cairns posed for a photo opportunity at the gates of Dáil Éireann when accompanied by party leader Catherine Murphy and a dog which she claimed was a greyhound.

Upon investigation however, the dog was revealed to be a Lurcher who is owned by a former Political Communications Director for the Social Democrats, Anne Marie McNally, who claimed on social media that the lurcher named Potter was “rescued from the racing industry”. For clarity, Potter, or any other lurcher, has never been and never will be part of the greyhound racing industry.

Whatever anyone’s politics, this level of subterfuge should have been beneath any elected representative and the greyhound community in Tipperary thanks our TDs Matty McGrath and Jackie Cahill for vigorously opposing the Social Democrat attack on racing in Dáil chambers, with the latter in particular lambasting Miss Cairns to the point of ridicule for her antics.

The motion was defeated with thankfully more TDs capable of basing their opinion on fact over sensationalism in search of populist support. The question that lingers for Holly Cairns and the profiteering organisations who oppose the sport while soliciting donations is, if you had a reasonable case, why the need to lie?!