The pundits hit the nail on the head when they agreed that the outcome of this evening’s Toolmaker Ulster Puppy Cup would be decided in the opening strides writes Michael Watts.
Few however successfully predicted that it would be Monraud Turbo, favourably drawn in Trap 1 who would the one to hit the lid and be out and gone. Easy to back at 3/1, the John Downey-trained daughter of Godsend was quickly into her stride for a facile trap-to-line win in 28:61 secs.
Starting next to her in Trap 2, the 7/4 jolly Talking Tactics challenged her for every inch of the 525 yard trip but in the end finished two lengths adrift as they crossed the line with the only wide seed in the field, 14/1 outsider Scully’s Matty, a further two lengths away in third place. The big prizes at Drumbo Park are often snatched by Southern raiders but tonight’s winner is owned by Raymond Mc Kinney of Moneymore. It is good to see the £2,500 first prize go to a local kennel and to one of the smaller kennels to boot.
