Silva
goes fastest as Classic posse gathers around Nidge!
New track holder and outright favourite for the 2014
Kerry Agri-Business Irish St Leger, Droopys Nidge, gamely registered back
to back opening round wins when just fending off the sustained challenge of
Burgess Oscar in a thrilling Heat 5 buckle. However, on a wonderful night of
classic action a host of aspiring champions emerged with every passing Round 2 heat
to breath down the neck of this young superstar like schoolyard bullies determined
to send him back down the pecking order as Paradise Silva went fastest in a
dominant Heat 8 display.
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Silva goes fastest in Rd 2! |
Pat Buckley`s powerful Gold Cup runner-up closed the night’s
action by lowering his round 1 clock in landing heat 8 with another strong
running performance following a level start from trap 1. He defended his inside
pitch at the bend before streaking to an unassailable lead early in the
back-straight, with bumping for those in behind. Never seriously threatened, he
held ten lengths over Cloon Glory and Glideaway Con, who recovered well from
early traffic to fill the places in a brilliant 29.52. Paradise Silva has found
his best breaks in the opening heats and should that continue, his powerful
gallop from the second bend makes him a leading hope for outright honours.
Six runners remain unbeaten
Five more winners will defend unbeaten tags in our quarter
finals and the first to score back to back victories last week was Adrian
McPherson`s Lemon Pumba who produced another impressive early paced display
when just denying Burgess Four a first bend lead in heat 2. He was tracked into
the back-straight by Jackal Frampton but a bigger challenge materialised at
the closing bends as De Real McCoy continued his impressive comeback with a
strong late challenge which fell short by just a head in 30.16 with Jackal
Frampton in third.
The Gerry Holian trained early pacer Emers Superstar showed
an impressive turn of foot on the run to the opening bend in Heat 6 before
smoothly galloping to his seven length winning margin early in the
back-straight. He relegated the race to little more than a procession
thereafter when chased home by Castleivy Crash and Borna Helena in a brilliant
29.58. A Kirby finalist here back in April, he was improving on his opening
29.66 win despite suspicions that the track was slower than the previous week.
Emers Superstar continues to grow in stature and his Derby campaign proves that
he can withstand the rigours of a tough classic campaign which will make him a
formidable opponent as the event progresses.
Nidge nails stubborn Oscar in a thriller
This heat was preceded by that epic tussle between Droopys
Nidge and Burgess Oscar where the latter showed the best early pace having been
just headed in the early strides from trap 2. He held the inside pitch at the
bend where Droopys Nidge came to within one length having paced up well in
splendid isolation on the outside after breaking just behind the lead despite
charging at his trap 6 door before trap rise. A protracted buckle from the top
of the back-straight saw Nidge draw alongside Burgess Oscar at the halfway
point but the response was strong and sustained by the Cork raider until
eventually succumbing in the home-straight but only by a half a length in a
slick 29.62!
James Roche`s Ballyana Foxtrot again showed his Limerick
prowess in Heat 4 when quickest to the opening bend after a level break from
trap 5 to lead Big Bang into the back-straight. The latter gamely reduced a
five length halfway deficit to just one and a half lengths at the line in 29.75
with Hawaii Kinsale recovering from a tardy start to claim third. Graham
Holland`s General Wolf then added to his impressive Limerick record despite
being led to the opening turn and slightly inconvenienced by fast trapping
Macho El en route. He quickly overhauled the leader however when swinging off
the second bend and streaked clear to an eye catching twelve length success in
29.74 with Macho El just relegated to third by Elevenerife.
Close calls throughout exciting Round 2!
Heat 3 served up another cracker where Metro Jack used his
rails pitch to good effect for a four length back-straight lead over Vulturi
who tracked the early pace for a rails run at the corner. The leader maintained
a strong gallop from this point and still had two lengths in hand off the final
turn but Liam Dowling`s Derby finalist found his trademark fast finish to just
deny the Paul Hennessy charge by a shorthead at the line in 29.84. Catching the
eye when claiming third was Paudie Ryan`s Hannibal Rising who lost no ground on
the winner from the second bend to home, having been plumb last in the early
exchanges.
There was little more than the minimum winning margin in our
opening heat also as Dromore Premier just held the inside at the first bend and
gamely kept his neck in front all the way despite being hard pressed throughout.
His final challenger was the strong staying bitch Borna Central who just failed
to get up on the line in 29.97 with Stoneboy King filling third in a highly
entertaining heat that set the tone for a wonderful Round 2 session.
Solo for show, now race for dough!
We have seen stunning displays of racing excellence by some
of Ireland`s most impressive trackers in the opening round heats of the 2014
Irish St Leger and while there was still the odd wide margin winner last week,
we also saw many heats with the result still in doubt upon exiting the final
bend. Expect that latter trend to continue into our quarter finals tonight and those
who registered fast clocks with little fuss can expect greater competition for
racing room now as the ability to secure a competitive position in the face of
adversity becomes infinitely more important than the stopwatch.
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Nidge faces biggest test tonight! |
For one runner in particular, this will prove the biggest
challenge of his career as the supremely talented Droopys Nidge attempts to
graduate from speed merchant……to racing champion! He deserves great credit for
responding to the challenge laid down by a resilient Burgess Oscar last week
and reopposes that rival in Heat 1 tonight but Classics get tougher with each
round and the presence of Vulturi with the plumb trap 1 draw makes this three
way clash a mouthwatering prospect. Nidge will need to be at his best to secure
victory here and that includes relaxing in traps. He charged the trap door as
hare exited the final bend last week and any repeat of this tonight could cost
him dearly. Conversely, Vulturi rarely puts a paw too far out of place and with
a likely clear run on the inside of Burgess Oscar, just gets the nod to lower
Nidge`s colours for now.
The second heat, on paper at least, appears the most
straight forward to predict and Paradise Silva will go to traps a very short
priced favourite. Without the presence of a confirmed early pacer to rival him
for a first bend lead that would seem justifiable and he should hold the inside
pitch at the bend, allowing him to skip clear at the top of the back-straight.
Glideaway Con has posted smart splits in his opening heats and can give the favourite
most to worry about if fending off Jackal Frampton in the early strides.
Our third heat brings three unbeaten runners together in a
vicious draw where connections will gladly settle for any qualifying spot but
the slick early pace of Emers Superstar can prove decisive. Expect him to
outpace likely early challenger Lemon Pumba off the second bend, provided he
matches General Wolf at trap rise. Trap 4 in this particular situation is far
from ideal for the Wolf and he must be smart in the early strides to secure a
run as Emers Superstar will drift towards the rail at the earliest sign of
clear space, making this a complicated heat for the places, especially as De
Real McCoy appears close to his very best form on latest evidence. Big Bang and
Borna Helena will pick off the early pacers that fail to secure racing room and
the trio combination in this heat really could be anything!
Ballyana Foxtrot will bid to continue his winning ways in
our closing heat and likely racing room from trap 6 makes this a clear
possibility as he can post a time that will make him extremely difficult to
reel in. Fast trapping Macho El can lead on the inner and by doing so, give
Metro Jack a tow into the race on the back-straight and he can chase Foxtrot
around the closing bends while Borna Central may again secure a qualifying spot
with her powerful pace from halfway.
Outright Betting: Droopys Nidge 2/1 Vulturi 7/2 Paradise
Silva 4/1 Emers Superstar 7/1 Ballyana Foxtrot 7/1 General Wolf 12/1 Metro Jack
25/1 Jackal Frampton 25/1 De Real McCoy 33/1 Lemon Pumba 40/1 Burgess Oscar
40/1
50/1 bar 