For any Greyhound enthusiast no matter what your engagement in the sport is, watching for the next superstar to emerge has to be one of the most exciting experiences.
Whilst in the UK they rarely hit with a bang, this due to the schooling and graded system, things are different in Ireland. To bring pups through in Ireland, there is a clear structure. The calendar lends itself to superstars hitting the ground late winter, onto the Con & Annie Kirkby, then the English derby and the Irish derby.
A few unraced stakes are a must watch. The Future Champion & Michael fortune unraced at Enniscorthy, Champion open unraced at Kilkenny, The Dennis Linehan Solicitors cork unraced, Rural Hawaii at Clonmel, and the one that should have us all hooked, the Juvenile Classic unraced at Tralee – starting this Friday.
Flying machines have been put away, wrapped up and saved, nurtured and trained, for this launch pad. The last 2 years have seen an incredible level of stars emerge who have gone onto great things, the likes of Coolvanny Shado, Coolavanny Hoffa, Ballinabola Ed, Ballymac Marino, Ballymac Walt, Droopys Onestop, Bombout Bullet, Beepers Lariat, De lahdedah, Terezas Mendoza, Music Glideaway, Ower Mystery, Droopys Edison, Da Bold Freddie, Wi Can Dream, and Magical Kuba…to name just a few.
This years Calendar is slightly skewed with the renovation at Shelbourne meaning the Irish Derby is pushed back to November, so we should expect a huge contingent of top class greyhounds travelling from Ireland for the English Derby. Irish schooling tracks, and those linked to top kennels, will have heard whispers of the next flying machine, and if rumours are true it sounds like this crop could be extra special.
Bookmakers if interested should have names in the book already of these unraced pups, as they should the Rural Hawaii contenders. Journalists should be watching to make sure they know who’s coming through. Breeders will be scrutinising the stud dogs used, as we all desperately search for the next super stud to emerge. Those with large wallets will have their cheque books ready after the first round.
But most importantly, those of us that just want to see the best dogs, the superstars of our sport evolve, who still get hairs stand up when a pup takes off down the back, who want to say to their mates “back this for the derby now”, get logged into Barking Buzz on Friday night, because 1 euro to watch a race is nothing to see these specimens emerge.
Breeding is my passion as many know, so watching the next studs emerge is what I most look forward to. The Sydney effect has skewed the breeding scene a little because of his dominance the last few years and we’re waiting for others to step up.
It looks like we may be waiting a little longer though. Sydney has sired 13 of the runners in this 36 runner stake, with 2 of his sons, Deerjet sydney and Ballymac Cashout siring 3 each, taking his numbers to 19 that he has direct links with (Complete sire list below).
Probably of most interest is the quality of broods on show. Dolls lady, Newinn Liz, Hail Cleopatra, Nice Mystery, Redzer Ruby, Ballymac Diva, Droopys Pickles, Coolavanny Ella, Ballymac Arminta and the phenomenal Ballymac Scala (who has had a huge impact on breeding throughout this comp) are just a few of the brilliant broods on display, with exciting additions of broods who had great track careers.
The likes of Ballymac Beanie having two runners in the event and Ballymac Wisdom having a much anticipated runner. One stat that is surprising, although maybe the bitches aren’t old enough to have had many pups hit the track yet, is that Droopys Sydney doesn’t have a single runner in the event out of a bitch sired by himself.
Yours in sport
Phil Milner
