CHAMPION BITCH SEMI-FINALS PROMISE FIREWORKS AT THURLES

Peter Farrell

After a brilliant start to the Thurles Champion Bitch Stake last Saturday afternoon, the field has already been cut to just twelve runners with no margin for error ahead of the 3,000-to-the-winner decider next weekend.

Brickhill Moana took home the bragging rights last Saturday as she posted the fastest time of the round, making-all the clock a swift 28.94 on a track rated .40 slow on the day. The lightning-fast breaker is riding the crest of a wave at present after landing the Sean O’Connor Memorial at Limerick and she took to Thurles like a duck to water in round one. She meets some formidable rivals in the second semi tonight, however, and could find the likes of Singalong Cherry and Droopys Bundle a bridge too far. The latter overcame a tricky draw in five last weekend to eat into Brickhill Moana late on and could go one better this time around. While drawn in four, the daughter of Droopys Sydney, trained by Robert Gleeson, has a massive engine and if she can track ‘Moana’ around the opening bends, can prove too powerful late on. Meanwhile, Singalong Cherry was a winner in 28.96 .40s in round one. One of the outright fancies for glory, she has a plum draw in red and has the early speed to pose questions to Brickhill Moana. Given the benefit of her rails berth, the Pat Buckley runner is the likely favourite and she looks primed for a strong challenge for connections. Also involved in this contest are Magical Hope, Borna Lassie and Sundance Shirley, all brilliant on their day, and very much capable of landing a telling blow.

The opening semi final is a very even spread with reason for optimism for all connections.

Of the sextet, Deerjet Matilda gets the vote after an encouraging performance in round one. On that occasion, the Pat Buckley-trained puppy was third behind Singalong Cherry, however, her 28.91 on debut at Thurles suggests plenty more to come. Drawn in three, she is on the right side of her main threats and don’t be surprised if she takes a step forward tonight. Kennel companion, Glengar Blitz, has strong claims. Bradley Canty’s runner posted 29.23 .40s in her win last weekend and it proved a relatively straightforward success, winning by four lengths. The sole wide seed in six, a repeat of her 1.70 section should see her lead and if doing so, the daughter of Glengar Bale should make the frame. Of the others, Tassie Tomboy is the third of the Buckley runners and is the likely favourite. She finished third in round one, paying the price for a poor start (1.80) on her Thurles debut. She is likely to have taken plenty from that outing and she is the most likely to improve with just seven starts under her belt thus far. Tournareekcuckoo, Holiday Beebee and Swift Frantik make up the line-up, all of which have top form to their name and will all bid to bag one of those all-important qualifying positions.