GORTROE LANDS TIME DECIDER AS BAREFOOTS ON FIRE IN LEGER TRIAL STAKE

Peter Farrell

There was another quality card on offer at Limerick Greyhound Stadium on Saturday night as the track gear up for the upcoming renewal of the Willwego.com Irish St. Leger and the performance of the night came in the AO Trial Stake as Barefoot On Fire took off for Paul Hennessy and Bryan and Kathleen Murphy.

The gloss on this trial stake was taken off slightly as Threesixfive was a notable absentee, however, it’s debatable whether she would have gotten near Barefoot On Fire on this particular night as the blistering fawn returned to racing action with real intent. Sent to traps as the 11/10 jolly, the son of Grangeview Ten and Jaytee Osprey blazed a red-hot trail early from three to manufacture a four length lead into the back and barring incident, this was all over as a contest at just the midway point. Tracking expertly rounding the bottom two bends, Barefoot On Fire was certainly back to his beat as he saw off Dromana Jen by three and a half lengths, in an exceptional 29.54. Always regarded as a top-class tracker when on-song, if he continues that type of form, he will warrant serious respect in the upcoming St. Leger.

Race ten was an A2 Trial Stake for the Leger and Drombeg Spark upset the odds as she ensured Evan McAuliffe will have at least one runner in the Classic in one week’s time. 5/1 at the off, ‘Spark’ came away on a spring wearing the striped jacket and the daughter of Broadstrand Bono and Gentle Trend set a scorching gallop on route to the opener. Setting a strong gallop thereafter, ‘Spark’ was kept honest by Ballintoher Bud, who stayed on stoutly, and she recorded a one and a half length success over her rival in 29.92.

In race twelve, Hazelhill Bucko continued to see his stock rise with a really impressive display in the A1 Trial Stake. Coming into the contest with two very smart sprint trials, the Lucy Roche-trained runner was dismissed in the market as a 6/1 chance, however, he quickly made the bookmakers eat humble pie with a swift exit from trap six. In doing so, the son of Dromana Bucko and Flat White quickly got to work as he built a seven length advantage down the back and although Buckos Wazza bridged the gap in the closing stages, ‘Bucko’ still had one and a half lengths to spare crossing the line. An electric early-paced performance, the time was a hot 29.78.

*****

TIME RECORD BREAKER A3 600

The feature on the night was the €1,200 to the winner TIME Record Breaker A3 600 and this went the way of 5/2 chance, Gortroe.

A thrilling contest, Kyletaun Coco set the standard early on as she disputed with Curraghmorecoco on the run-up. The former soon asserted down the back, however, Gortroe was showing all sorts of pace at the midway point as she motored into second place ready to pounce. Switching from the inside to the outside, Gortroe, trained by Jerry Griffin for Con Enright and Norma Lenihan, was now in charge as she held all the aces entering the long run for home. Indeed, the race was far from over at this point as Curraghmorecoco shifted it up a gear in the closing stages to come back for more, however, he fell just short come the winning line as Gortroe sealed a short-head victory over Curraghmorecoco in second. A really exciting contest, the time was 32.87.

*****

KINGDOM SETS TONGUES WAGGING

While Barefoot On Fire returned to his very best earlier on the card, the concluding AAO contest saw Seek The Kingdom follow suit with a devastating performance for Paul Hennessy and Gerry and Miriam Meaney.

Friendless in the market as a 6/1 chance, Seek The Kingdom broke the bars of trap three to lead on the run-up and it was Faypoint Harvey that gave chase entering the back straight. Making big progress down the back, ‘Harvey’ tried hard to get to the front, however, he simply had no answer to Seek The Kingdom, who continued to set an incredible gallop up top. Drawing clear rounding the bottom two bends, the son of Ballymac Vic and Jaytee Pearl powered to the winning line thereafter as she secured a three and a half length success over Faypoint Harvey in second. The time was a phenomenal 28.25.