“I think we were just driving through the gate out of Shelbourne before it really occurred to me what had happened.”
Boylesports Derby winning trainer Graham Holland confesses that the end of Saturday night’s meeting ended as a bit of blur following Lenson Bocko’s last gasp victory at Shelbourne Park.
He said: “I was on the far side looking over towards the winning line and thought he had just got up but wasn’t confident that my eyes weren’t playing tricks until the announcement was made.
“I thought Bocko ran a tremendous race. I didn’t expect him to be fazed by all the noise and he wasn’t, he just gets on with the job. But the noise would have been impossible for any of the dogs to hear the hare coming. I really thought he would have to lead to win and he showed tremendous guts to get past the two dog.
“After that, I don’t really remember much. We had runners in each of the later races and we were just so busy that it really passed me by until we were driving home. The first time I saw the replay was at home at 2.30 in the morning and we eventually got to bed at 3am.
“They will be great times to look back on in the future, for our family and for the three owners. Graham (Box) and Austin (Whelan) were in the top boxes but I saw Len (Ponder) and family in the restaurant. After so many years of trying, it was special that he finally got there. He is such a popular man in the sport and has made such a great contribution to it.
“With the exception of Wolfe who found himself crowed and in trouble, the whole kennel performed. We were up against it in the early races bu they all ran to form, even Clona Star (10-1) who came in as a reserve and ran second to Ballyane Sim.
“Of the older dogs, the likes of Lenson Blinder, Slippy Cian and Clonbrien Prince have become more 600 yard types as they have got older and they had a chance to show what they could do over the longer distance. Blue East is another. He staying better now he is a bit older and finally achieving his potential.
“As far as Bocko is concerned, I would think there will be one more appearance this year, the Night of Stars. We will then put him away for the winter. He is still a very young dog with huge potential.
“Greyhound racing is like a game of snakes and ladders and there is always disappointment around the corner. But at the moment we are enjoying every minute.”
