Overnight rain cleared early this morning over Powerstown Park and by 11am a fine crowd had gathered for the opening day of the 93^rd National Coursing Meeting. There was plenty of activity in the betting ring with the biggest wagers in the Boylesports Derby coming for Outoftheshadow (7s to 4s). Later there would be a huge move for Clon Eagle (33s to 12s) but unfortunately for his supporters that gamble would go astray very quickly. In the Horse & Jockey Hotel Oaks the money kept coming for the long odds favourite Silent Wonder and as predicted she went to slips as short as 3/1.

The action got underway with a perfect course for Space Trend which had been nibbled at by punters also and was only 8/1 in places. Up and In, away and home, to return again at 11.00am tomorrow morning, what more could you ask for ?. And remember this lady was also in the first course of the day when winning her trial stake in New Ross. A number of longer than average hunts would follow in that first quarter, Woodlands Roisin & Killimor Belle the main sufferers, but things steadied down then and we were treated to some excellent coursing for Day 1. Share The Dream & Loyal Labamba were the two to catch the eye in the second quarter although we got no clock for Con Guiney’s runner as she came off the run-up. This second quarter would also produce the first big shock of the day when Heartbeat got the better of Abbeyfeale winner Graigues Legacy (the loser would later be very lucky to win her course in the Dublin Coach Kitty Butler so perhaps she is not herself).

The third quarter of the Oaks produced a string of impressive performances from the likes of Blades Of Honour, Myleene, Cill Ide Bliss and Howyamissus but they were still overshadowed by the awesome Silent Wonder which simply glided over the ground. She won’t get it easy but if she produces similar runs tomorrow and Monday the Oaks trophy will surely be heading to the Nolan household in Abbeyfeale. The fourth quarter is much harder to call but the bookmakers obviously liked the East Donegal reserve trial stake winner Central Maid because the 33s available before coursing has drastically constricted to 10s this evening. The final course of this first round would send the Val Halla Syndicate from Derbyshire off to lunch very happy when their Flagfield Alonso ran out a gutsy winner over the local Clonmel hope Alonso Blonde.

Slipping his first ever official course at a National Meeting, Alan Kelly (pictured here on right with his uncle & judge Liam Kelly) got Needham Yippee & Mayfield away shortly after 1.15pm in the BoyleSports Derby. It would be one of four flags the maestro Brendan Matthews would raise today with City Expert his only loser. However this first quarter today belonged to Corn Na Feile Derby winner Silent Whisper, a brother to the Oaks favourite. Wouldn’t you like to be driving that van home tonight !!. The thriller we anticipated between himself & Roquefort Teddy just never happened to be honest with the Silent dog always in control. The second quarter in the Derby is a bit like the third in the Oaks, dominated perhaps by the favourite Outoftheshadow but full of other potential winners should he slip up. It certainly won’t be plain sailing for the favourite as he got a number of turns this afternoon and looked tired walking back down. It will take an upset for it to happen but potentially the families of both slippers could be involved in a third round buckle tomorrow afternoon (Long John Silver v That’s My Man).

The third quarter produced the most drama & talking points of the day. First the 50/1 chance Boyneside Swift clocked what was up to then the best clock of the day (bettered just once later);  Noel Browne’s Powerstown luck ran out when a playful hare refused to head home after Coolavanny Juno had rose his first flag in an eye catching manner; In a bizarre course the hugely fancied Watchman seemed to lose sight just after he put his head in front against early leader Half A Moment and suddenly took a turn back towards slips; Finally the quarter concluded with a noble run from City Link which places him firmly in contention for outright honours. The fourth quarter was much more straight forward but did give us the best clock of the day when the big local hope Part Exchange had the stands buzzing with his 12.64 run. Whilst anything can happen, right now his buckle tomorrow morning with Kyle Steel could decide the outcome of this bottom quarter.

And so owners & trainers headed out the Lodge Gate this afternoon, some excited, some content, some bewildered and some disappointed. Although never in doubt as to how genuinely nice coursing people are, it was really brought home to yours truly this lunchtime when the draw for the Dublin Coach Kitty Butler Stakes took place. Twenty eight first round losers were entered, leaving four places for the seven reserves. It must have been cruel disappointing for the three which lost out, especially after bringing their runner to Clonmel this morning. However the connections of all three, Gentstown, Chetwynd Belle & Knockane Gracie accepted it in such a graceful manner that your heart would go out to them. Thankfully all six remaining Derby reserves made it into the Stockproof Fencing TA Morris Stakes later.  Indeed one of them, Candied Peel, will be involved in the second course of the day when coursing resumes tomorrow morning at 11.00am. See you there !!

SPORTING PRESS NATIONAL MEETING SPECIAL      
Enjoy reading our 44 page National Meeting Special inside every Sporting Press this week. As well as Previews, Formguide, Expert Opinions & Tipsters, Betting, Photos, Fantasy Coursing update etc etc it also includes Frank Kieran’s story of his day at the kennels of Paul Matthews; John Barry has a chat with the Nolan family (‘Silent’ prefix) and Con Guiney about their Clonmel hopes; Paul Cooney concludes his trial stake trail with a visit to the Heeney family in Ennis (Allofthelights) before returning home to Tipperary to discuss the chances of Ballymeelishnell with Pat Lee in Roscrea; The aforementioned Frank Kieran also has a word with Kevin Barry about his Powerstown contenders and finally the wonderful mind of Gerry McCarthy aka Tom Kelly recounts how the National Meeting has continued to thrive over 93 years despite weather, war & many other challenges.  A huge thank you to all our contributors, those mentioned above and all who helped in any way to make this publication possible. Special thanks to Tony O’Mahoney and Damien Lonergan for their trojan efforts and to our advertisers & sponsors. #NM2018

OFFICIAL NON-RUNNERS

RESERVES IN DERBY & OAKS     
Please note that whilst our system only allows us to display eight reserves in ‘Coursing Draws’ for both Derby & Oaks, all ten remaining reserves will appear on the programme on Day 1 and will be eligible to compete in the Consolation Stakes if vacancies arise.  In the Oaks the Reserve I is Chetwynd Belle and Reserve J is Strand Road. In the Derby the Reserve I is Creggane Magic and the Reserve J is Treatuinchawkes.

FASTEST CLOCK
The fastest time recorded at the second hare schooling session at Powerstown Park on Friday was 12.69. The fastest time recorded at the first hare schooling session at Powerstown Park on Thursday was 12.48.   

COURSING BUS 
Due to huge demand for the Coursing Bus on Route 2 (Galway) and Route 3 (Tralee) an extra bus has now been placed on both routes so that no one will be disappointed. Scroll down to the bottom of this page for booking details. Early booking advisable.

OFFICIALS ANNOUNCED 
Following the counting of votes we can now announce the officials for the 2018 National Coursing Meeting.
JUDGES: Liam Kelly & John O’Connell (Reserve Judge: Paul Horan)
SLIPPERS: Brian Doyle & Alan Kelly (Reserve Slipper: Richard Quinn jnr)

NATIONAL MEETING WITHDRAWALS / REPLACEMENTS (BEFORE DRAW)

We are delighted to report that the Coursing Bus will be back in action for the 2018 National Meeting and our sincere thanks to the O’Sullivan family for providing this wonderful service. For full details on how to book your seat and the timetable click here.

Many congratulations to Tim & Master Marc Nolan, Castleisland who are joint owners of 2017 Corn Na Feile Derby winner Silent Whisper and to Darragh & Evan Morrissey, Graigue, Rathdowney who are joint owners of 2017 Corn Na Feile Oaks winner Graigues Legacy. Well done also to the host club who had to overcome a first day postponement but then ran a most enjoyable meeting in front of a huge crowd both days. The appetite is now well and truly whetted for the National Meeting in February.

From the moment the draw was made on St Stephen’s Night the experts predicted that Silent Whisper and Outoftheshadow would progress to meet in the final of Corn Na Feile Derby and that was exactly how it worked out. However whilst Silent Whisper was beating very decent dogs in independent fashion it was Outoftheshadow who was grabbing all the attention with some amazing clocks. And so it was the latter who went to slips for the decider as the very warm favourite. In a most exciting finale to the meeting Silent Whisper came away best and held on by the narrowest of margins to gain the Judge’s decision. Outoftheshadow lost nothing in defeat and both greyhounds will be fancied to go a long way in Powerstown and perhaps even emulate last season’s Corn Na Feile winner Reikers Island.

For the first time in many years there was a separate Corn Na Feile Oaks for 16 Oaks qualifiers and it proved an outstanding addition to the programme. Graigues Legacy caught the eye of many shrewd judges in the first round but still had to overcome more fancied runners in the second & third rounds. This she did admirably and then ran out a comfortable winner in the final over the local hope Cill Ide Bliss. Her semi-final clock in particular stood out and will have her youthful owners dreaming of Clonmel success for the next six weeks.

There was only ever going to be one winner of the Corn Na Feile All Age and not only does Blades Of Fire now share a place on the Abbeyfeale roll of honour with his litter brother Reikers Island but he is also guaranteed a place in the Kevin Smith Champion Stakes where he is likely to start a very short favourite. It was a good day too though for the runner-up Straightlegs who has now jumped to fifth place on the Champion Bitch Stakes leaderboard, a remarkable achievement considering she started the season by winning a three course duffer in Kilflynn (incidentally the runner-up in that Duffer was Set Sail who last Wednesday won the Cork Cup !!).

Congratulations also to Noel Browne, owner of Derby TS winner Coolavanny Juno, who must be delighted to be heading to Clonmel with a Derby qualifier by his own 2016 Derby Champion and to Ger Kerins & James Lowe, owners of Oaks TS winner Hows Mrs Foley who will now be joining her litter brothers Kyle Steel & Goodbye Venice at Powerstown Park on February 10th.

Will Web Site members who provided a valid e-mail address when joining last season please note that an e-mail will issue on the 365th day of membership informing you that your membership has expired and that you now need to renew membership..
You should not attempt to renew membership until such time as this e-mail is received. Otherwise you will not be allowed to use the same User Name and/or Password as before.
Those who did not provide a valid e-mail address will also see their membership expire on the 365th day but unfortunately we will not be able to send you official notification. However you too should refrain from renewing membership until such time as the system prevents you from logging in.

All web site members who joined in September 2016 through the special Sporting Press subscription offer will see their membership expire on 11th September*.  (* 9th October for those who availed of the special offer in early October 2016).  Details of our 2017 Sporting Press subscription offer can be found on last week’s paper and will also appear on this week’s edition.

There was a large attendance when the AGM of the Irish Coursing Club took place at the Horse and Jockey Hotel, Co Tipperary on Wednesday 16th August. A full report & photos will appear on next week’s Sporting Press (edition of Thursday 24th August). 

Ten motions were listed for discussion. Nine were passed by members and the tenth (concerning 48 runner trial stakes) was amended following representation from the Co Kerry clubs and this too was subsequently passed. These are now subject to ratification by Bord na gCon (under the Greyhound Industry Act of 1958) before they become rule changes.

As stated previously full details of all these motions will be included in our Sporting Press report next week but a brief summary of some of them is shown below.

Prizemoney for Trial Stakes :  All 32 runner trial stakes to have an Entry Fee of €50 and a winner’s prize of €1,500; All 64 & 48 runner trial stakes to have an Entry Fee of €50 and a winner’s prize of €2,000. No change to 16 runner trial stakes which will continue to have an Entry Fee of €40 and a winner’s prize of €600

48 runner Trial Stakes :  These will now be deemed to have 24 runners in the top half and 24 runners in the bottom half.  The greyhound on the red collar in the second quarter-final will run a Natural Bye and the greyhound on the red collar in the fourth quarter-final will run a Natural Bye. This will give four semi-finalists. (Last season these stakes were drawn with 32 runners in top half and 16 runners in bottom half and it was the greyhound on the red collar in the second semi-final which received the Natural Bye).

Guarding in Derby and Oaks at National Meeting :   As before (a) An owner or partnership may win an unlimited number of trial stakes but (b) An owner or partnership cannot have more than two entries in the Derby or Oaks in the same name so therefore to satisfy this rule they must execute a change a ownership if they have more than two entries . Members at AGM passed the motion that two greyhounds in the same ownership shall now be guarded only if they are registered in that same ownership at the time of first registration or are in that same ownership before the commencement of the coursing season or are subject to compulsory transfer to comply with the rule of only having two entries in the same name (provided they were in that same ownership at first registration or before season commenced).

Finals at National Meeting:   ALL finals at the National Meeting must now be run out irrespective of Ownership status.

12 Day Rule (Greyhounds Absent or Withdrawn) :   Where a greyhound competes in a coursing event but is subsequently found to have been in breach of the 12 Day Rule it stands disqualified from the event, forfeits all prizemoney & trophies won and all greyhounds beaten by the disqualified greyhound are promoted by one round & entitled to the benefits associated with revision of placings.

Other motions passed at the AGM concerned Rule 88 (Adverse Analytical Finding Publication), Rule 88 (Sanctions), Club Insurance, Establishment of a Forfeit List, Registration of Litters and the Establishment of a Fixtures Committee.

The 2017/18 Fixtures List was ratified and can now be viewed under https://irishcoursingclub.ie/fixtures/

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our Coursing Awards & Dinner Dance at the Charleville Park Hotel on Saturday 1st April. Sincere thanks to our Award Sponsors: Greyhound & Pet World Abbeyfeale; Flaherty Markets Galway; Event Power Ltd Thurles; National Meeting Bookmakers; Brian & Noelle Divilly; Michael Horgan Mitchelstown; Bridget Byrne Surrey.

Of course it is the attendees who also make this night so special and we were thrilled to have over 300 once again for what was the 15th Annual Awards Night. Westmeath, Kilkenny, Cork and Limerick were very well represented this year as were the Abbeydorney coursing club who held their field development draw during the evening. The biggest cheer (and standing ovation) was reserved for Hall of Fame recipient Jimmy Darcy and his wife Anna. However for us Tipperary people the most memorable moment was the emotional rendition of Slievenamon from two other Kilkenny men Brian Doyle & Tommy Norton on Sunday morning.

We would also like to pay tribute to our superb band who suffered a very close family bereavement just a few days earlier but honoured the booking despite how difficult it must have been for them all. Thank You.

Our photo shows owners Dr Paddy & Mary O’Kelly, trainer Gerry Holian and breeder Denis Guiney receiving their trophies from Kathleen & Liam Murphy of Greyhound and Pet World after Reikers Island was announced the ICC Greyhound of the Year.

More photos on this week’s Sporting Press (April 13th).

What a coursing season it was for the Carr family from Killucan, Co Westmeath and indeed for everyone at Westmeath Utd coursing club. They had a path worn from Tables 7 and 8 to the stage at the ICC Awards & Dinner Dance last Saturday night in the Charleville Park Hotel. Sporting Press Progress Charts for Killucan Rose & Howdododo, the Charity Fantasy Coursing cheque for David & Declan Carr, the Patsy Byrne Junior Nominator Award for Caoimhe Ivory and Michael Horgan’s ‘Road to Glory’ Award for Westmeath Utd coursing club.
However the highlight of the night for them all was the Coursing Bitch of the Year Award presentation for Killucan Rose, very kindly sponsored by Flaherty Market’s, Galway.

Our photo shows Kevin Carr accepting the 2017 ICC Bitch of the Year Award from Martin Flaherty (presenting on behalf of his dad Jimmy) with members of the Carr family, Lucy Flaherty, ICC President Brian Divilly and ICC CEO DJ Histon.

“If you could come up with a definition of what a coursing man should be, look no further than Jimmy Darcy. He is a breeder, owner, trainer of distinction, club working member and of course has great respect for the Irish hare. He is a man we all aspire to be like and he is an inspiration to us all”.
Those were the words of DJ Histon, CEO Irish Coursing Club as he welcomed Jimmy Darcy into the ICC Hall of Fame at the Coursing Awards & Dinner Dance last weekend. As Jimmy and his wife Anna came to the stage to accept his Award from sponsors Brian and Noelle Divilly he received his second standing ovation of the evening. The first had come a short time earlier when the guests had watched a moving tribute to Jimmy which had been filmed at the Johnstown & Urlingford coursing field in Woodsgift and at his home.

Our photo shows Jimmy accepting his Award from sponsor and ICC President Brian Divilly whilst Anna accepts a bouquet from Noelle Divilly. Also in photo are Jimmy’s children Jimmy jnr and Marie, two of his grandsons James and Conor and his many friends from Johnstown and neighbouring coursing clubs.

Unlucky Champion Bitch Stakes runner-up Blades of Glory has produced some exceptionally fast greyhounds since being retired to the breeding paddocks.
However as owner Denis Guiney said at the ICC Awards on Saturday night last he thought a Classic win was going to elude her. That all changed of course on January 30th of this year when two of her sons Reikers Island and the Guiney family owned Blades Of Fire divided the 2017 BoyleSports Derby.
Their sister Our Miztique also reached the quarter-final of the Oaks so it was no surprise that Blades Of Glory was voted ICC Brood Bitch of the Year for the second time in three years.

Our photo shows Mike O’Connell (representing sponsor Richard Maher of Event Power Ltd, Thurles) presenting the trophy to Denis’s mam Mary and members of the Guiney family together with trainer Gerry Holian and Jacqueline Farrell.

In the 15 year history of the ICC Stud Dog of the Year Award only five different dogs have won the Award including Adios Alonso who took his third title this year.
The other winners are Hilltown (5), Bexhill Eoin (4) and Ashmore View, Kingsmill Dynamo and Razor Ashmore with one Award each.

Adios Alonso had previously won the Award which is kindly sponsored by the National Meeting Bookmakers in 2013 and 2015 so he appears to be making a habit of winning every second year. This might be of some comfort to other Stud Dog owners as we head towards the 2017/18 season !!!.
However there was no doubting his supremacy during the season just gone, siring the Oaks winner Knockout Glory and the two Derby dividers Reikers Island and Blades Of Fire as well as a host of other big stake winners and National Meeting qualifiers.

Our photo shows Michael Sheil representing the National Meeting Bookmakers presenting the trophy at the ICC Awards last weekend to Gerry Holian who trained Adios Alonso to win the 2010 Derby. To the right of Michael is John O’Sullivan who co-owns the dog with Richard Maher and Basil Holian.