With over 30 meetings now completed we take our first glimpse at the Champion Stakes leader-boards. In the dogs category Navalny (pictured), Ballymac Sports and Bodens Hulk all look very comfortable even at this early stage and it will be a surprise if they don’t find themselves in the Top 8 without having to add to their current points & prizemoney. Of course the news in recent days that the Premier Cup at Templetuohy could be worth €6000 and 12 points to the winner means at least one or two dogs will find themselves bumped off the leader-board on January 5th. Things are much tighter in the race to qualify for the Champion Bitch Stakes. Hunters Peak and Disco Diva gave their chances a big boost last weekend but most likely 10 points or more will be required for a Top 8 finish.
In the Fantasy Coursing we have a new leader, Betty Collins from Abbeyfeale, on 330 points. Betty had both finalists in the All Age at Ardpatrick (Disco Diva & Bodens Hulk) as well as Ballyduff Cup winner Ballymac Sports. James Wade of Cashel is still there though on 320 points but a new name on the leaderboard in third place is Liam Carr from Craughwell. In the Fantasy for Charity, Denis Murphy, Brosna has a nice lead and of course we wish Denis and the Murphy family the very best of luck in the Boylesports IGD Final on Saturday night with Callaway Knegare. From 6pm every Monday you can check your own updated scores by clicking into ‘Fantasy League Leaderboard’ at the bottom of the drop-down menu under ‘Coursing’ i.e below Draws etc.
| Leaderboards To 18/11/24 | |||
| Kevin Smith Champion Stakes | |||
| Greyhound | Points | Prizemoney | |
| 1 | Navalny | 15 | 5,500 |
| 2 | Ballymac Sports | 13 | 4,500 |
| 3 | Bodens Hulk | 13 | 3,800 |
| 4 | Ballymac General | 11 | 3,650 |
| 5 | Ballymac Major | 8.5 | 2,750 |
| 6 | Aarons Rich Dan | 7.5 | 2,000 |
| Grace & Matt Bruton Champion Bitch Stakes | |||
| Greyhound | Points | Prizemoney | |
| 1 | Ballymaccallaway | 8.5 | 2,450 |
| 2 | Hunters Peak | 7.5 | 2,150 |
| 3 | Metal Queen | 7 | 1,600 |
| 4 | Disco Diva | 6.5 | 1,650 |
| Sporting Press Fantasy Coursing Competition | |||
| Name | Points | ||
| 1 | Betty Collins, Abbeyfeale | 330 | |
| 2 | James Wade, Cashel | 320 | |
| 3 | Liam Carr, Craughwell | 305 | |
| Sporting Press Fantasy Coursing Charity Competition | |||
| Name | Points | ||
| 1 | Denis Murphy, Brosna | 270 | |
| 2 | Aisling Flynn, Tarbert | 215 | |
| 3 | Fiona Wilmott, Newbridge | 210 |
The following is the new Champion Stakes points system for the 2024/25 coursing season.
| 8 ALL AGE | PRIZEMONEY | WINNER | RUNNER -UP | SEMI-FINALIST |
| €750 – €999 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| €1,000-€1,249 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | |
| €1,250 – €1499 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| €1500-€1999 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 0 | |
| €2000 or > | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| 16 ALL AGE | PRIZEMONEY | WINNER | RUNNER -UP | SEMI-FINALIST |
| €1,000-€1,499 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
| €1,500-€1,999 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | |
| €2,000 – €2499 | 6 | 3 | 1 | |
| €2500 – €2999 | 7 | 3.5 | 1.5 | |
| €3000 or > | 8 | 4 | 2 | |
| 32 ALL AGE | PRIZEMONEY | WINNER | RUNNER -UP | SEMI-FINALIST |
| €2,000-€2,999 | 10 | 6 | 3 | |
| €3,000-€3,999 | 11 | 7 | 3.5 | |
| €4,000 or > | 12 | 8 | 4 |