We lost four of our Derby runners on Saturday but we still have seven going into the second round and I am thoroughly enjoying it. It looks a very good Derby.
I thought Clonbrien Swift was particularly unlucky, going out by a short head, and I noticed on the table on this website that on times – he did 29.78 – he can be considered very unlucky not to still be there. Still, there were no injuries which is the most important thing. I stand by my view that most dogs will improve as they get to know the track.
Romeo Rumble was one of those eliminated and Nicky will be bringing him back to England where he will join John Mullins.
He is a nice young dog, still lacking experience. But the Irish grading system will work against him, given what he has done to date, and he will have more chance to learn against dogs of his own ability in England.
Rumble finished fifth behind Skywalker Logan in that track record breaking run. We know Logan quite well of course and Pat Guilfoyle and I had a good chat about Logan and racing in general at a meal before racing recently.
Is Logan a top class dog? Definitely, he has shown it all around the country, though he isn’t a Shelbourne dog. Is he beatable? Yes, I think so. I have had dogs very similar, not always with his ability of course, but certainly with his running style.
In my opinion – and I am only commenting as I would if he was a dog of my own – he is vulnerable when drawn away from the rail with early pace on his inside. He will then have to battle. That doesn’t mean he can’t win a Derby of course, but a lot will depend on the draws. If he keeps getting decent draws, then he will keep doing what he is doing.
We have five out on Friday, starting with Clonbrien Prince in heat two. Four isn’t ideal for Prince, I would prefer him closer to the rail though I am glad not to be immediately on the outside of Paganini Show. If thought he moved to his right in the heats though Savana Volt is probably not the quickest breaker. On his breeding, you might expect him to be running over a lot further than 500 metres. Emers Cookie seems to have decent early and may lead. I just want Prince to stay out of trouble on the run to the bend and we will take our chances from there.
We have two runners in the third heat, they are badly drawn, and even then I would prefer them the other way round. Blue East’s best hope is a smash break and clear the field. He will move to rail if he gets the chance. Nice Charmer tends to hold his line. I think Desperado Dan is the one to beat in the race. He is showing good early and doing the times. I hope we can get at least one of them going through to the next round.
Heat four, with the Irish Derby first and second is really tough. Ballyanne Sim’s record speaks for himself though I am not convinced that this is his track, or his distance. For me, he is an outstanding 525 yard dog. Nottingham is a tough 550 and I am still to be convinced that he will stay it. Magical Bale is quality but was possibly short of a run last time out. He is better than that and I would expect to see him improve. I would expect those two to dominate in the early stages with Totos Park hopefully on their outside. Give me third place going into the second bend and I would take it now.
There are five heat winners in heat five though I wouldn’t swap Lenson Blinder. I thought we saw the real Blinder last weekend and I was very pleased with the run. The long run up at Nottingham really suits him and although I would much prefer to see him closer to the rail without three runners on his inside, he will hold his line to the bend and he isn’t desperate to dive across. I think he will start favourite and barring any trouble, you would hope he would be good enough.
I was delighted with Macaroon Cruz who showed some of his old form last week. He clearly didn’t run Mullingar well but seems to like Nottingham and was unlucky not to have got up behind Boylesports Xtra.
Trap three is less than the ideal draw in heat 11 and there could be crowding on the run up with four railers and two middle seeds. All I can do prepare him well. We have managed to get some work into him and if he gets any kind of run I would expect him to qualify.
I learned years ago never to shout your dogs home because you look such a pillock when they get beat. But when you are at home, let yourself go. Timmy and I watched the Wolfe‘s race on Saturday and nearly screamed the house down. No matter how many winners you might get, if you can’t get passionate about a run like that you are in the wrong game.
The dog came out of the race in superb shape and although the race with Wildcat could have gone either way depending on the draw, I couldn’t be happier with Wolfe.
He is behind the others in terms of work with just two sprints and one 500 metre run since his lay-off and I would expect him to continue to improve. He looks the best drawn of all our second round runners and I can’t wait for the weekend.
Nicky (With a ‘Y’ -Ed) will bring the dogs over at the weekend, I’ll be at Shelbourne with Clona Dream in the Oaks Final and will be trying to follow the Derby on an App on my phone.
We are up against it of course in the Oaks with the exceptional Ballymac Arminta only just outside the track record in the semi finals.
Shelbourne is running very fast at the moment, and that is taking nothing away from Liam Dowling’s bitch. But with the track being assessed as ‘normal’, it is going to make life difficult for a lot of runners with Shelbourne form.
Although all tracks grade on times, that doesn’t matter if all the other dogs that you are going to run against continue to race on the same track, which is what happens in England. But if you are going to other tracks, which happens a lot in Ireland, the going allowance, or lack of it, means you will be up graded.
We also have six runners in the Produce Stakes semi finals on Sunday.
They are split three and three though the draws have been mixed. In the first semi all six are inside runners. It should work in Rockburst Dutch’s favour though Herecomesdahoney and Murts Boher in particular, have been very unlucky. The second semi is a bit kinder with Riverside Leo looking particularly well drawn on the inside.
Sponsor Larry O’Rourke will be at Cork on Saturday for the final on the Drive On Tipp Open Final. Tipp is traveling down for the big night though he seems to be taking well to retirement.
Drive On Tipp with Steven, Darragh, Louise and AJ Hally in Cashel, Co. Tipperary – photos courtesy IGB
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