FEBRUARY 2023
TALKING DOGS ON THURSDAY EPISODE 122: DAVID HARRINGTON
This week Barry chats to David Harrington, chairman of the Curraheen Park Supporters Club.
VIDEO: 2023 PADDY KEHOE SUSPENDED CEILINGS GOLD CUP FINAL
GRI
On Saturday 25th February, Bogger Hunter claimed the 2023 Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings Gold Cup for owners Brendan Keogh & SImon Senyk, trainer Ian Reilly and connections in Shelbourne Park.
TALKING GOLD CUP EPISODE 4 MONDAY 27TH FEBURARY
GRI
Bogger Hunter's win in the 2023 Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings Gold Cup Final is the hot topic of conversation this Monday with the Talking Dogs team. Join Ian Fortune, Tommy Lyons & Declan O'Donoghue now as they chat about the Final and the other big action of the night in Shelbourne Park, plus the Greyhound & Pet World Juvenile Classic in Tralee's Kingdom Greyhound Stadium.
HORSELEAP NELLY WINS RACING POST GREYHOUND TV AWARD
GRI
RPGTV announced earlier this month that the inaugural RPGTV Greyhound of the Year for Mullingar was to go Horseleap Nelly. The winners are announced each year to honour the outstanding successes at stadia included in the regular RPGTV schedule for both Ireland and UK. This is the first year that Mullingar have been included in the awards.
APEX GLOBAL SOLUTIONS CORK OAKS – RORY BURKE SPEAKS TO SEANIE MCGRATH
GRI
Last week, we announced the great news that Apex Global Resources are the new sponsors of the Cork Oaks.
HUNTER POUNCES TO TAKE THE GOLD
Ian Fortune
Bogger Hunter produced a brilliant display to emerge a thoroughly deserving winner of the Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings Gold Cup at Shelbourne Park on Saturday night.
GRACE AGAIN FASTEST IN MIDLANDS DERBY
Ian Fortune
While Bogger Hunter took the big one at Shelbourne Park, Beepers Grace also provided Ian Reilly with something to smile about at Mullingar as she again set the pace in the second round of the Kilbride Kennels Midlands Derby.
LISDALEEN RANGE LANDS THURLES 570 FEATURE
Peter Farrell
There was a nice prize pot of €1,500 up for grabs at Thurles Greyhound Stadium last night as the final of the Thurles Racecourse A4 570 reached its conclusion and Lisdaleen Range (Out Of Range - Boherna Sophie) went one better than his narrow defeat last time out to score.
PAPE DI ORO BOOKS KIRBY TICKET IN EMPHATIC STYLE AT LIMERICK
Peter Farrell
Limerick is gearing up nicely for the upcoming Con & Annie Kirby Memorial at the end of March and the Munster venue hosted no fewer than five Trial Stakes last night, the pick of those a terrific performance from Pape Di Oro.
RYHOPE BEACH THE STAR OF THE SHOW IN THE KINGDOM
Barry Drake
Just like last week, Ryhope Beach (Droopys Sydney-Calzaghe Jan) clocked a sensational 28.12 as round two of the Greyhound & Petworld Juvenile Classic took place in the Kingdom Greyhound Stadium.
RPGTV CHAT TO GOLD CUP FINALISTS
GRI
As we look forward to Saturday's Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings Gold Cup Final, which will be live on RPGTV, they spoke to the connections of the finalists.
AN UPDATE FROM RÁSAÍOCHT CON ÉIREANN AND THE IRISH RETIRED GREYHOUND TRUST IN RELATION TO REHOMING OF GREYHOUNDS
GRI
Rásaíocht Con Éireann and the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust strive to rehome retired greyhounds in a timely manner in Ireland, across Europe and throughout the U.S. and Canada.
YOUNG TRAINER ANNA STAPEL RECORDS FIRST WINNER IN YOUGHAL
Barry Drake
Having just her second runner as a trainer, ANNA STAPEL produced a really impressive winner in Youghal on Wednesday night as Nonevernomore, a litter brother to Dromana Bucko, returned to racing action after nearly a year off the track to win in superb style.
LOADS OF LIFFORD NEWS
Ian Fortune
These are exciting times at Lifford ahead of the grand reopening in the coming weeks.
APEX GLOBAL RESOURCES ANNOUNCED AS TITLE SPONSOR OF THE CORK OAKS AT CURRAHEEN PARK GREYHOUND STADIUM
GRI
Curraheen Park Greyhound Stadium has announced that Apex Global Resources as the title sponsors of the 2023 Cork Oaks, which takes place over 3 weekends during March.
SHELBOURNE INTROUCING TEXT ENTRIES
Ian Fortune
A notification has appeared in the Shelbourne Park card in the past week to highlight the fact that they are introducing a new text/Whatsapp system for entering greyhounds.
TALKING GOLD CUP EPISODE 3 MONDAY 20TH FEBRUARY
GRI
As we look forward to the Final of the Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings, Ian Fortune. Tommy Lyons & RPGTV's Joe Conneely discuss all the action at Shelbourne Park and more!
STUNNING DEBUT BY HESONEOFOUROWN
Ian Fortune
While there is plenty happing on this side of the Irish Sea, there was also plenty to talk about across the water at the weekend including the opening round of the Ladbrokes Winter Derby from Monmore.
TOP-CLASS ACTION AT CLONMEL AS KIHEI CONTINUES TO BLOSSOM
Peter Farrell
After winning the Rural Kennels Unraced 525 last week, Rural Kihei continued her winning form last night at Clonmel as she made light work of her rivals in stepping up the additional twenty-five yards.
SOME SMART DISPLAYS IN KILCOHAN PARK ON SATURDAY NIGHT
Barry Drake
The Paddy & Ciara Sharkey Bookmakers & W.T.S.C A2 stake got underway in Kilcohan Park on Saturday night.
SENSATIONAL DISPLAYS IN OPENING ROUND OF GREYHOUND & PETWORLD JUVENILE CLASSIC
Barry Drake
Ballymac Walt and Ryhope Beach were the quickest on the clock as the opening round of the 2023 Greyhound & Petworld Juvenile Classic took centre stage in the Kingdom on Saturday night.
TAYLOR AND MONTANA LAND THE FINALS AS BRIDIE ALSO IMPRESSES ON DEBUT
Peter Farrell
While there were two sweepstake finals down for decision at Limerick Greyhound Stadium last night as well as the second round heats of the Talking Dogs 600, there was also some very eye-catching performances, none more so than in the opening race of the night were Glengar Bridie made an incredible winning debut.
LAUGHIL ROY ROMPS TO VICTORY IN JOHN RAFFERTY MEMORIAL 330
Peter Farrell
The final of the John Rafferty Memorial Open 330 was the highlight at Thurles Greyhound Stadium last night and it was Laughil Roy who built on his impressive spin last time out to run out a comfortable winner of the feature.
RUSSMUR PAT LEADS THE WAY IN TIME GREYHOUND NUTRITION A1 CORK CUP
Barry Drake
The Time Greyhound Nutrition A1 Cork Cup were the standout races in Curraheen Park on Saturday night.
TALKING DOGS ON THURSDAY EPISODE 120: RICHY BRANNIGAN
This week Barry chats to Richy Brannigan, a man who's passion for greyhound racing is evident.
JOHN MCGRATH
Greyhound racing lost a great friend during the week with the sad passing of John McGrath.
BIG ATTENDANCE FOR LIFFORD TRIALS
Ian Fortune
Paul Murphy, the Lifford racing manager, was in touch yesterday to confirm that the north western venue hosted their first full private trial session on Saturday and no fewer than 90 greyhounds had a spin around the impressive circuit.
NELLY AWARDED FOR MULLINGAR EXPLOITS BY RPGTV
Ian Fortune
RPGTV yesterday announced that the inaugural RPGTV Greyhound of The Year for Mullingar would go to Horseleap Nelly.
RUBY SHINES BRIGHTEST IN KNOCKLONG DECIDER AT LIMERICK
Peter Farrell
*Story re-posted as due to a technical error it didn't appear last week* Kindly sponsored by Liam Hayes, the final of the €2,200 to the winner Knocklong Schooling Track A1/A2 525 was the feature at Limerick Greyhound Stadium on Saturday night (4th February) and after winning his semi final in good style, Ballygibba Ruby emerged victorious once again at huge odds of 10/1.
TALKING GOLD CUP EPISODE 2 MONDAY 13TH FEBRUARY
GRI
The 4 second round heats of the Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings Gold Cup are the hot topic of discussion with the Talking Dogs panel this week.
PRO AM AND AZURE CATCH EYE IN SHELBOURNE TRIALS
Ian Fortune
There were a couple of eye-catching trials ahead of racing at Shelbourne Park on Saturday night. It was no surprise to see beaten Derby favourite Callaway Pro Am go fast for the sprint trip but Razldazl Azure was perhaps the most interesting of those to trial.
MAGIC ROMEO CLAIMS TWO GBGB AWARDS
Ian Fortune
Coolavanny Aunty was ultimately named Greyhound of the Year at the 2022 Greyhound Board of Great Britain Awards at Sheffield Stadium but Graham Holland and David Firmager also had reason to smile as Romeo Magico picked up two awards on the night following his wonderful English Derby success.
BRYNOFFA ARMINTA STARS IN DOUBLE FOR MACKEYS AT CLONMEL
Peter Farrell
There were a number of smart performances last night at Clonmel but Brynoffa Arminta without doubt stole the show with an incredible display in an Open/A1 contest.
PLENTY TO TALK ABOUT AS HUNT FOR GOLD CONTINUES
Ian Fortune
The second round of the Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings Gold Cup certainly provided plenty to talk about at a packed Shelbourne Park on Saturday night with a combination of tremendous performances, and shocks.
PADDY KEHOE SUSPENDED CEILINGS GOLD CUP – SEMI FINAL DRAW
Ian Fortune
The draw for the semi-finals of the Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings Gold Cup has certainly thrown up two intriguing contests.
CHARLESTOWN LANDS FEATURE ON NIGHT OF SERIOUS QUALITY AT THURLES
Peter Farrell
The final of the Pas Bar, Upperchurch, 525 may have received top billing at Thurles Greyhound Stadium last night but there were a number of superb performances across the card, none more so than in the John Rafferty Memorial Open 330 semi finals.
1-2 FOR GUILFOYLE IN FINAL OF TWO WHEEL TRAINING OPEN 575
Barry Drake
Trainer Patrick Guilfoyle landed 1-2 in the feature at Curraheen Park on Saturday night as Scaglietti got the better of Magical Mary in the final of the €3,750 to the winner Two Wheel Training Open 575
PROLIFIC BRIDGES TAKES SHELBOURNE’S FEATURE
Ian Fortune
Over 1,000 French rugby fans journeyed to Shelbourne Park on Friday night ahead of Saturday’s Six-Nations game around the corner at the Aviva Stadium.
CHARLESTOWN TO ASSERT IN PAS BAR FEATURE AT THURLES
Peter Farrell
There is a fantastic card on display at Thurles Greyhound Stadium later tonight and the feature will be the final of the Pa’s Bar, Upperchurch, 525, boasting a winner’s prize of €1,050.
FOUR TIMER FOR GRANGEVIEW AS JOMAC LANDS 350 FEATURE
Peter Farrell
There were some good performances on show at Galway Greyhound Stadium last night but the pick of those was that of Grangeview Port as he made it four wins on the spin in the concluding race.
EXCITEMENT BUILDING FOR GREYHOUND & PET WORLD JUVENILE CLASSIC
Barry Drake
The greyhound and pet world 2023 Juvenile Classic kicks off at the Kingdom Greyhound Stadium next Saturday - February 18th.
STUDENTS AGAIN PROVIDE A GREAT ATMOSPHERE AT SHELBOURNE
Ian Fortune
Thursday’s additional night at Shelbourne Park again proved to be a real success with a large number of students journeying to the Ringsend venue, providing a raucous atmosphere.
TIME TO SPONSOR CORK CUP
GRI
Fans of greyhound racing will notice a new brand name associated with the Cork Cup at Curraheen Park as it commences this weekend.
TALKING DOGS ON THURSDAY EPISODE 119: MICHAEL O'DWYER
Barry Drake
This week Barry chats to Michael O'Dwyer, a greyhound fanatic living in Hawaii.
THE SPECTATOR: IN PRAISE OF GREYHOUND RACING
Neil Price
Read Neil Price's article 'In Praise of Greyhound Racing' as published by The Spectator
2022 NATIONAL GREYHOUND RACING AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED
GRI
Congratulations to each of the nominees in the 2022 National Greyhound Racing Awards which have been announced tonight.
NATIONAL GREYHOUND AWARDS NOMINEES ANNOUNCED
Ian Fortune
The nominations for the National Greyhound Awards for 2022 have been released and there are very few surprises in the list of nominees.
TALKING GOLD CUP EPISODE 1 TUESDAY 7TH FEBRUARY
GRI
It's time to welcome back our favourite Talking Dogs chat as the team sit down to discuss the Gold Cup action.
JOB VACANCY CONTROL STEWARD THURLES & KILKENNY
GRI
A vacancy has arisen for the position of Control Steward (Part-time, 3 days per week).
LIFFORD ANNOUNCE OPENING HOURS AND TRIAL TIMES
Ian Fortune
Lifford Stadium have announced their opening hours, entry deadlines and trial times, although have warned that it is a provisional schedule and subject to change to meet demand.
KAVANAGH TRAVEL OFFERING ENGLISH DERBY PACKAGE
Ian Fortune
Those wishing to travel to the English Derby decider on July 1st will have an extra option with Kavanagh Travel.
RURAL KIHEI STORMS HOME TO LAND RURAL KENNELS UNRACED
Peter Farrell
Clonmel capped out their festival of racing in supreme style last night as the final of the Rural Kennels Unraced 525 came to a conclusion and there was to an upset on the cards as Rural Kihei, owned by the Scots-Clan Syndicate and headed by the sponsor Helen O’Dwyer, landed the €6,200 first prize.
DOUBLE FOR CAMPION AS SIX SWEEPSTAKE FINALS COME TO A CONCLUSION AT CLONMEL
Peter Farrell
There were no fewer than six sweepstake finals down for decision last night at Clonmel Greyhound Stadium and Paraic Campion was in particularly good form as he landed two of the stake finals on offer.
GOLD ACTION A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME
Ian Fortune
Saturday’s opening round of the Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings Gold Cup certainly whet the appetite for the year to come with a number of fine displays, although it was clear there is so much more to come from the remaining competitors.
GOLD CUP – SECOND ROUND DRAW
Ian Fortune
The second-round draw of the Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings Gold Cup has thrown up some fine heats including one nightmare heat for a commentator.
FOGGY DIGS IN TO WIN DUBLIN CUP THRILLER
Ian Fortune
Foggy Bottom emerged a determined winner of the A2 Dublin Cup at Shelbourne Park on Friday night, showing great bravery as well as tremendous early speed to repel the persistent challenge of Noirs Best in a fitting conclusion to what turned into a superb competition.
APOLLO BLASTS OFF AT NEWBRIDGE
Ian Fortune
Zaconey Apollo saved his best form the night that mattered, claiming the valuable Eamon Wheatley Memorial A4 525 in superb fashion at Newbridge on Friday night.
NOSHOW TAKES KILKENNY’S FEATURE
Ian Fortune
Ballintee Noshow produced a professional performance to claim the feature of Friday’s action at Kilkenny, the final of the Talking Dogs A2 525.
BRILLIANT DEBUT FROM BONNIE AT GALWAY
Peter Farrell
There were a number of smart displays at Galway Greyhound Stadium last night but the pick of those was a debut victory for the Noel Hehir-owned Ivy Hill Bonnie.
STAGE SET FOR HIGHVIEW IN DUBLIN CUP
Ian Fortune
By the end of racing at Shelbourne Park this evening, someone will be €6,000 with the final of the A2 Dublin Cup the undoubted highlight of proceedings.
TRALEE 2022 AWARDS
Barry Drake
The Kingdom Greyhound Stadium is pleased to announce that the 2022 Awards Night will take place on Saturday February 11th at the stadium.
RUN HAPPY MAKES BRIGHT START TO STUD CAREER
Ian Fortune
Those paying attention may have noticed a couple of impressive winners by Run Happy in recent weeks and he has now moved to Sean and Ann Bourke at the Newpark Stud.
TALKING EASTER CUP EPISODE 2: MONDAY 28TH FEBRUARY
GRI
As the BresBet Easter Cup continues to treat us with brilliant performances on the track at Shelbourne Park, there's plenty to chat about tonight.
TALKING EASTER CUP EPISODE 1: MONDAY 21ST FEBRUARY
GRI
The 2022 BresBet Easter Cup got off to a flier on Saturday night in Shelbourne Park Greyhound Stadium. The oldest classic on our calendar, it boasted a pretty impressive field this year and the opening round did not disappoint. Ian Fortune & Tommy Lyons are back for the first of our Monday night chats of the year and they're excited to be back....talking dogs!