TRAPRISE - History maker Susie a superstar for the ages

It requires a supreme talent to be crowned champion of any sport but once in a very, very, blue moon a star emerges to push established boundaries beyond breaking point, charting new territory previously deemed unattainable.

On Saturday at Shelbourne Park, the sport of greyhound racing experienced just such a seismic event when despite competing on familiar hallowed sand, Susie Sapphire (Droopys Jet-Jetstream Lynx) broke new ground while altering the parameters for fantastical sporting aspirations to land the 2021 Boylesports Irish Greyhound Derby.

Sure, there has been 93 previous winners of the event but none as the reigning Irish Oaks champion, let alone the Puppy Oaks Champion, and all of this before she even reaches two years of age in November!

Bred and owned by Peter Comerford in Naas, Susie Sapphire is trained by Owen McKenna from his kennels in New Inn and although not in his own reckoning for Derby contention at the start of the season, the victory compensates for a luckless Derby final outing twelve months ago when the racing career of his kennel star Pestana ended at the first bend of a fateful 2020 showdown.

Praying for greater fortune in 2021, Owen admitted, in the wake of victory, to seeking some divine intervention from the greatest of all time, his dad Ger, when on a visit to his native Borrisokane last week.

“I went up home on Thursday to visit my mother (Josie) in Borrisokane, she’ll be watching this tonight, she’ll be delighted,” he said.

“I called into the graveyard to see the old boy and asked if he could give one more effort to push her over the line for us!”

Whether three-time Irish Derby winning trainer Ger did manage some divine intervention or not, it was scarcely needed for Susie Sapphire as the November 2019 pup dominated Saturday’s final while becoming the first greyhound to complete an unbeaten campaign since College Causeway in 2009.

A smart break from trap 1 saw the 2-1 favourite immediately in command and with only runner-up Singalong Sally securing clear passage in behind, the verdict was as good as settled before reaching halfway with six lengths in hand over that Pat Buckley pursuer.

To her credit, Singalong Sally halved her deficit in a forecast for the ladies, but Susie Sapphire was dominant while posting a stunning 29.18 for the 550-yard classic trip. With the remainder of the field recovering from first bend bumping, Jackslittlething filled third when four and a half lengths further back while our local duo of Explosive Boy and All About Ted were made to settle for fourth and fifth respectively following less than optimum starts.

In the immediate aftermath Owen exclaimed; “She’s some little lady. Everything asked of her, she’s done it.

“Once she went around the bend in front, it was going to take a hell of a run from anything else to pass her.

“Thank the lord that she didn’t come in season, or she may not have been in the Derby at all. It’s some feeling, it’s everything, this is everything!”

A second Irish Derby success for Owen following the 2004 exploits of Like A Shot, the kennels have come close in the interim with Farloe Blitz in 2015 and particularly last season when all looked in place for Ireland’s fastest ever over 550 yards, Pestana, before injured in the final.

Speaking of those contrasting fortunes, Owen’s wife Sian was brimming with pride when exclaiming; “We’ll go home with happy tears tonight because last year we were on such a high going into the final and then disaster struck.

“At the beginning of this year we didn’t think we had any runners for the Derby, and here we are now, it’s absolutely amazing! It’s crazy what she has achieved for such a young bitch. We can only thank the Comerford’s for trusting us with her.”

The racing record of Susie Sapphire now reads twelve wins from 19 starts, with six of those coming in this flawless Derby campaign. The first bitch to achieve the Oaks-Derby double on top of her Puppy Oaks achievement, and all before two years of age, Susie may well be the greatest champion of them all!