The 115th running of the Irish Cup, kindly sponsored once again by the O’Sullivan family in memory of Una, got off to a great start today at Patrickswell in perfect weather. The majority of the fancied runners made it safely through to RD2, the exceptions being Callaway Pat which lost sight when looking a certain winner and Mr Trendsetter which was put in his place by another of this season’s Derby quarter-finalists Ashmore Mac. It was no surprise to hear that John Boyle’s pup had recorded the fastest clock of the day, 11.86, such was the manner of his victory.
Ante post favourite Magical Titan looked impressive in his straight run but his clock of 12.04 was beaten a number of times afterwards including by another pup Machiavelli (11.93) which Titan now meets tomorrow morning. It should be a thriller but the red collar will definitely be an advantage to the favourite. Second favourite and recent Derby runner-up Ballymac Awil certainly did nothing wrong but perhaps we were expecting a better clock than 11.91 after his fireworks in the early rounds at Clonmel. Derby semi-finalist Mallory Park took a while to get going but his opponent Gunship put in another good display in the Irish Purse this afternoon which makes one look at Mallory Park’s course in a more positive light.
Two of the most impressive runs today came from Stickmein and Cooga Magic. Stickmein, a semi-finalist here 12 months ago, simply bolted from slips and the course was over after 50 yards. Cooga Magic, Derby runner-up 2025, looks to be back to his best and has a great opportunity now of reaching the third day at the very least. Champion Stakes winner Five O Five though looked to be running slightly offline for the majority of his course and could easily have been flagged out. He should win his next but will then have to be at his very best if as expected he meets Stickmein in RD3. Another to catch the eye in that second quarter was Silent Storm which came in from the reserves.
We certainly have some very exciting buckles to look forward to tomorrow morning, not least Ashmore Mac v Challenger Deep, A Bitta Luck v Sparkplug Kerry and Ballinabola Cha v My Town. It looks like a very good renewal of Ireland’s oldest coursing classic, first run 120 years ago, but it is wide open and impossible to predict the Final 8 never mind the Winner. Coursing resumes at 11.30am on Saturday morning. Make sure you are there !!!