This is a wonderful time of the year to be looking ahead to track racing. Despite the weather, the summer has started, and it is the young dogs, the stars of tomorrow that get the excitement levels of us all up a few notches from our winter doldrums. Sunday night sees the final of the Red Mill Produce stake in Clonmel, but before that all roads leads to Kilkenny for the first round of the €14,000 Red Mills champion unraced stake.
This event never fails to give us a star of tomorrow. This year Kilkenny also have added to the €10,000 to the winner Red Mills Juvenile Championship to the calendar shortly after the unraced, so that will no doubt only add to the depth of quality on show this Friday coming.
Looking back at this stake over the years the list of winners reads very well indeed. Pat Dalton’s great brood Airport Express took the laurels in 2001, before going on to break the Harolds Cross track record. However, her indelible mark on Irish racing has been left on the pedigrees of some of the finest hounds we have seen in recent years, brood bitch of the year in 2006 and 2007.
In 2004, Jim Hennessy’s Irish Derby winner, He Said So was victorious. Five time Group 1 finalist in the UK, Yahoo Jamie, took the crown in 2009. The list just goes on, Lemon Sash, Kilmessan Jet, Hats My Boy, Cill Dubh Turbo, all winners that went on to be champions.
However, the winners only tell half the story, what about the also-rans? You have the great American stud dog Pacific Mile, sire of over 2000 offspring, who was sold for a reputed $100,000 after running up the event to Cill Dubh Turbo in 2002. There is also one of the greatest stud dogs of all time, Spiral Nikita, who broke the track record in the 1996 running of the event, 28.70, before exiting at the semi-final stage.
It doesn’t stop there, Swords Prince, De Ex Factor, Definite Opinion, Barefoot Man, Tyrur Quinn, Bandicoot Lola, Green Rumble and Scolari Me Daddy, they have all come up short in the Red Mills Champion unraced in Kilkenny.
Who will be the star of this year’s event? A bumper entry of 66 novice dogs, is a great boost to the game in these challenging times for breeders. A cursory glance at the draw is enough to see them jumping out at you, so here are a few for your notebook ahead of Friday night.
Firstly, we notice that there are four entrants from Kildallon Lee’s first litter. These dogs are by Premier Fantasy, and their dam, by Brett Lee had lightening early pace, and in a career curtailed, she recorded 28.46 around Lifford. Of her runners I am drawn to Kildallon Ranger, drawn in Trap 3 of heat 8. This dog has an open class sprint in Shelbourne Park and an impressive 29.18 in Kilkenny on his card thus far, and if his compatriots in the earlier rounds run well, this dog will take beating.
Navarone from the Pat Buckley kennel is another one that stands out from the card. Drawn in Trap 5 of heat 2, this son of Royal Impact and Ballymac Floss has a nice card behind him. Navarone first qualified last September in 29.79 around Tralee as a 13 month old pup, he will have received plenty of schooling since, and his 29.18 trial after racing in Kilkenny on April 18th is a notable effort, considering the fastest effort of the night was 29.52. It is also worth noting that previous offspring of his dam, Ballymac Floss, have a good record in puppy events, with his half brother Ballymac William an English puppy derby winner.
We must also consider those that produce the goods in this stake year on year, and one of those is Liam Dwan from Thurles who sends out Boherna Rumble (Ace Hi Rumble – Hondo on Air). ‘Rumble’ is a powerfully built 77lb blue dog, from the wonderful Live Commentary dam line. Last year Liam sent out 2 first round heat winners, and this entry must be respected.
Paul Hennessy’s Black and Amber kennel will be represented by two dogs. Priceless Pilot (Late Late Show – Kilara Gypsy) is a brother of two very smart novice dogs, Barefoot Duke, and Late Owl, and I suspect this hound has plenty of foot also. Hennessy’s other entry, Horse, is by Make My Day out of Late Delivery, who incidentally started her career in this stake in 2005, but her connection with the stake doesn’t end there as she is also the dam of De Ex Factor, the 2010 Tote Gold Cup winner in Shelbourne Park.
Two former winners of the competition, and locals to the track Micheál Bergin, and Denny Lennon will oppose each other in heat 10. Micheál, who won with Cill Dubh Turbo in 2002, sends out Cill Dubh Reid (Blackstone Gene – Durrow Dasher), from the same dam line of his 2002 winner. While Denny Lennon, victorious with Lemon Sash in 2000, sends out Lemon Maeve (Ballymac Maeve – Lemon Blossom). Lemon Maeve also shares his dam line with Lennon’s previous winner.
The entire card of 11 heats is fascinating, and as these are all unraced dogs and bitches it is based upon their breeding and dam lines that we can form our opinions. All the great modern dam lines are represented. The aforementioned Live Commentary line, Blonde Returns, Ullid Citrate, Lemon Dazzler, Little Diamond UK, Pinhead, the list goes on. So get yourself to Kilkenny, as you will see a star born this Friday night.
