Pearl Scorches into Paddy Butler Final

Stakes action continues apace at Kilkenny with over the coming weeks.    Our showpiece event, The Langton Derby, gets underway on Friday week, August 19th, a week later than adertised, and entries are still open.   As always it promises to be a great event.   This Friday's card will feature the final of the Paddy Butler 525, with €4800 in prize money to be distributed.

Last Friday’s benefit night for St. Martins, Muckalee GAA club was a great success, generating a big crowd, and proved once again what a wonderful fundraising facility the Kilkenny track is for local clubs and charities.   This coming Friday sees Timahoe GAA host their annual benefit night.

On the racing front last Friday nights focus was on the semi-finals of the Paddy Butler 525, and it was Ger Kiely’s bitch, Airmount Pearl (1/1f) who stole the show, breaking smartly and taking it up from the first bend, she ran on strong to record a scintillating 29.14, the fastest run from a bitch so far in 2011 at the track. 

'Pearl' was followed home by Minglers Trickie and Kilmacar gift who both overcame crowding at the second bend to qualify.   The second semi-final was a closer run affair, but it was another Waterford dog, Carrigcanon Duke (6/4f) that took the spoils in 29.50, for Paul Reid and Richard Vereker.  The son of Duke Special, showed great early pace with a 4.46 split, but was chased all the way home in Movealong Karen and Rooneys Twitter, who will also line up in Fridays final.

The most exciting event of the night was an extremely competitive Open 725yrd race, where the market suggested that Local favourite and Corn Cú Chulainn finalist Welesbourne Dan (1/1f) was the one to beat, but it was Francie Murrays Music For Fun (5/2) that led up and looked a winner all the way until the final bend of the six, when ‘Dan’ and Kevin McLean’s charge Kerryroad Baba (3/1) swooped, and as all three made their dive for the line it was ‘Baba’ that had the nose in front.

Kerryroad Baba - Winner of the Open 725

Tomorrow night’s card see’s the semi-finals of what looks a very good novice stake.   Plenty of these pups caught the eye last week, and special focus will be on Brian Hickey’s Kilkenny Saddler, to see if this bitch can reproduce the awesome back straight pace she showed last week.   However, this stake will take a lot of winning, and Barefoot Guru, Can’t Touch This, Lemon Mafi and Kilrush Leon all showed spark last week, so it really make for an interesting stake.

Uxorious and connections after winning the Open Sprint

Upcoming stakes at the track to look forward to are the Aries Son A4 525 which will carry a winners prize of €2000, and Sean Flynn memorial A3/A4 525 which will carry a winners prize of €2300.    The track bar will also be open on Thursday and Saturday night to show the Derby action from Shelbourne Park.