A great buzz and sense of anticipation greeted followers as they arrived at Powerstown Park this morning and like a typical opening day at Clonmel it was filled with all the mix of emotions possible on such a huge occasion. The coursing was of a very high standard, in particular the morning session, and it augurs well for the remainder of the meeting.
Horse & Jockey Hotel Oaks
The betting ring was very active before coursing and plenty of chalk was being used by the bookmakers especially on Tory Mischief. She went to slips as the 5/2 favourite which is the shortest price ever recorded on the opening day of this classic.
There was a great lull in the crowd as the first pairing of Rathfort Rocket and Revello Del Toro went to slips and soon Brian Doyle had them released and the 99th National Meeting was finally up and running.
Irish Coursing Club President, Pat Loughlin, will have been more than pleased with his syndicate owned First Lady and she qualified smartly for the second round. The first upset of the day came when Lone Blaze beat Hoping For Five but an even bigger shock was to follow when Unpocoloco beat Figjam in a thriller. In between those two buckles Ballymore Lady caught the eye with a very good clock whilst Ballyhealy Twirl unfortunately got extra work in her course and must be a doubtful runner tomorrow.
Ballymac Mulan and My Cool Marie both impressed in the second quarter but the third quarter will take a great deal of winning. Breska Starlight recorded a very fast clock but the performance of Over Excited when changing sides against Orianthi and coming from off the pace to score by a strong two lengths was truly remarkable, this lady doesn’t like to be beaten.
Newinn Candy looked very decent when winning her opening round in the fourth quarter as did Eulogy but this quarter and indeed the first round of the Oaks belonged to the ‘jolly’ Tory Mischief with a 12.48 clock and she is now priced as low as 7/4 with five rounds still to be completed.
Boylesports Derby
The betting ring was again buzzing at the interval and one would need an extra pair of eyes to keep track of the prices changing on the different boards ahead of the Derby. In the top quarter there was good money for Bundchen whilst Ballymac Hollow and Challenger Deep were well supported as was Ashmore Express running for the Derby sponsor. In the second quarter Montpelier Magic was all the rage and Master Tactician attracted some nice bets at a big price. Five O Five and Bobby Browne were the ones the punters latched on to in the third quarter and down in the last quarter the money came for Coverbridge, Central Clever and Cooga Magic.
Ballymac Hollow set the target for the rest of the field in the second course of the opening round before the clash of the two strong fancied runners Bundchen and Challenger Deep gave us an absolute thriller with Challenger Deep doing just enough to earn the flag. Kilkeale Touch then won many admirers putting out Delegator and his meeting with Ashmore Express could be the buckle of Rd2.
The second quarter has several strong contenders and the clash of Gone To Strand and Montpelier Magic is another course to look forward to tomorrow.
Five O Five looked all class when easing into the next round but the 12.34 clock from Joxer in that same quarter caused quite a stir and would prove to be the fastest of the day. Sadly his opponent Ifonlyhedlisten did not finish his course and our hearts went out to Ann Marie & Niamh & John.
In the bottom quarter the ‘With A Bit of Luck’ syndicate from Dundalk were in high spirits when their runner A Bitta Luck upset the fancied Coverbridge, Gunfighter caught the eye and will now meet Escalation which eliminated the well supported Central Clever before Cooga Magic gave an exceptional performance, keeping the dream of his Doon syndicate very much alive.
With the bookmakers still offering 5/1 the field and at least six dogs at that price, this Derby is wide open.
Photo is of Barry Lynch placing Revello Del Toro in slips for the first course of the 99th National Meeting.