POWERFUL PERFORMANCE FROM ROAD EXILE IN SUPERSPRINT FINAL
Barry Drake
ROAD EXILE recorded three straight wins when winning the €5,000 to the winner Greyhound & Petworld Supersprint at Curraheen Park on Saturday night.
Trained by Pat Buckey for owner R.A.Colwell, the 5-4 favourite delivered another powerful performance to land the feature.
It was Droopys Zelda who came away racing and she really put it up to Road Exile. Nip and tuck early on, Droopys Zelda was flying along up front and when Road Exile ran wide between the final corners, it looked for a second that the Droopys runner might score, however, Road Exile is so powerful over this trip and once straightening up, he hit top gear down the home straight and he flew home to beat Droopys Zelda, by half a length, in 17.52.
Hopes Hurricane was third, a length and a half behind the runner-up. Following on from the success of Flashing Willow in last year's decider, that's now back-to-back wins in the Supersprint for trainer Pat Buckley.
Liam Murphy (Greyhound & Petworld) making the presentation to Ciaran O’Sullivan after Road Exile landed the Greyhound & Petworld Supersprint at Curraheen Park. Also included is Darren Hogan (Curraheen Park Racing Team), GRI Board Members Alex Grassick and Richie O’Regan along with friends and supporters.
RETURNED TO WINNING WAYS
In race five, Ballymac Run returned to winning ways for Liam Dowling. The 6-4 second favourite was in front early on and from there, she was always going to take the world of catching. Strong up front, she beat the running on Mother Jones, by a length and a half, in 28.57, to win the Mini Open Bitch 525.
KIERAN LYNCH TREBLE
Racing concluded with a fine display from Rebel Ocean as the even-money favourite recorded back-to-back wins for owner Vincent O'Keeffe. The Kieran Lynch trained runner didn't produce his best start, however, he railed well around the opening corners to lead. Quickly putting the race to bed up front, the impressive winner ran out a four-length winner over Ballycowen Liam, in 28.63.
The quickest run of the night came from Butterbridge Roy in the tenth, an A1. Trained by Kieran Lynch for owner Mark O'Shea, the 7-4 joint favourite won the important early lead, soon clear, the strong running tracker put on a fantastic performance. All one-way traffic up front, Butterbridge Roy cruised to a wide-margin success to make it a treble for Kieran Lynch.
It was a great night for the Lynch kennels, Standing Charge had earlier won for Patrick Murphy. The 5-2 shot displayed plenty of back straight speed to lead and he stuck on well up front to win the A3 contest, in 28.97.