Derry Greyhounds: Bleach’s powerful action cleans up in Derby semi-final

The racing surface was in pristine condition as usual for the 8-race programme at Brandywell on Monday which featured the semi-finals of the Len McKinney Memorial Brandywell Derby, generously sponsored by Track Lotto and the McKinney family.

When Seamus McCloskey of the famed Mineola prefix finally bred a fawn dog, he decided to name it Mineola Atlast (Ballymac Best x Mineola Meercat, Dec ’20). Racing from trap 5, the handsome fawn hound was having his first career start after winning both his qualifying trials.

He trapped well and showed good pace into the first bend where he had relinquished his narrow lead briefly as Quaker Ridge benefitted from the shorter inside line on the bends.

But Mineola ran on well up the home straight to get the better of his rival by a short head in 16.99 for the 300 yards. The long wait is paying off for Seamus already and Mineola is a dog with a bright future.

Conor Colby’s Buy One (Jaytee Jet x Funny Pippa, Nov ’20) was having only her third career start in the second race on the card. She registered her first win after trapping smartly from the 3 box.

Her early pace brought her to the first bend just in front of her nearest rival and from there she ran on well up the home straight to win by 3.5 lengths, recording 16.72 which was the fastest time of night over the sprint distance.

The time was all the more impressive when compared with that of the last sprint of the night which included some top grade sprinters.

The sprinters were in action again in the third race. Call You Tonight (Native Chimes x Bubbly Madeva, Sep ’20) notched up her third consecutive win for Ryan McGranaghan in what was a competitive race. Well away from trap 3, she showed good pace to gain a narrow lead going into the first bend.

Mineola Atlast with owner Seamus McCloskey who won the first race.

She ran the bends well to open up a couple of lengths lead on her rivals and held of the late charge of Curlew Bubble by 0.75 lengths as she crossed the line in 16.85. Wexlim Lady only finished fourth but ran on strongly into the escape and it looks like she would appreciate a step back up in distance. Call You Tonight has now won 3 of her 4 career starts which is an impressive record for a novice.

The Len McKinney Memorial Brandywell Derby: Semi-finals

The first semi-final was the faster of the two with Brendan McCann’s Old Bleach (Laughil Blake x Millers Lane, Jan ’21) putting in another paw perfect performance. Her trapping is improving with each race and she led the field from the 3 box. She moved wide on the run to the first bend and it left plenty of room for Brother Len and Glenford Rouge on her inside. However, Len and Rouge both encountered crowding coming out of the second bend, where Bleach, who was on the outside of Len, shot into a decisive lead which she stretched to 5 lengths as she crossed the line in a fast 29.18. Both Len, who was runner up, and Rouge who was further 0.75 lengths back in third, will be hoping for clearer runs in the final.

Benny Barrett Memorial Sprint champion 2022, Twentyoneten (Ballymac Best x Some Ginger, Aug ’20), won the second semi-final in 29.39 for Thomas Light.

Although this was the slower of the 2 semi-finals, Thomas’s dog was slightly crowded on leaving the boxes as well as at the first bend so he has scope for improvement in the final.

He trapped well from the 6 box and moved middle on the run to the first bend, where despite some crowding, he determinedly forged his way into a 4 or 5 length lead going down the back straight. Boherna Kit ran on well after a slow start to finish 1.25 lengths away in second place and Glenside Shank took that last qualifying place for the final when he was 1.5 lengths behind in third. Shank also encountered crowding during the race and should improve with a clear run.

Call You Tonight with Darragh McGranaghan who won the third race.

Trap Draw for the Len McKinney Memorial Brandywell Derby Final 2022 - Trap 1 Brother Len; Trap 2 Glenford Rouge; Trap 3 Boherna Kit; Trap 4 Old Bleach; Trap 5 Twentyoneten; Trap 6 Glenside Shank.

Rosehill Pele (Tarsna Havana x Shesashowoff, Nov ’20) has made it 3 wins from his last 4 races when he trapped fast from the 2 box and lead all the way to score in the sixth race over 500 yards. He recorded a fast 27.91 which suggests this pup is improving with racing experience. Pele is a home bred dog and his owners Vincent McGuinness and Juliet Aldridge must be delighted with his performances.

After 12 career starts without a win, 3 year old Shlowdown Rumble (Maryville Rumble x Lady Dunbar, Jul ’19) is making up for lost time with 2 wins from her last 3 starts for Brendan Harkin.

She was fast away from trap 5 in the seventh race and had enough pace to get in front of Titanic Jay at the first bend. She was challenged at the third bend by Trumpers Sonic who appeared to be coming with a winning run but Rumble kept digging deep and finding more. She held on to win by 0.5 lengths from the fast finishing Titanic Jay who was very unlucky to experience a lot of crowding during the race.

Jay would have went into a few notebooks in the hope of a clearer run next time.

Once again, the last sprint of the night looked to be very competitive on paper and possibly the trickiest race of the night to select the winner. Marshall, a litter brother of Old Bleach’s, was having his first race at the Brandywell circuit and his card boasted an impressive 18.01 win at Drumbo recently.

He looked the likely winner after a slick start from trap 1 but Pennylane Syd (Droopys Sydney x Pennylane Missy, Dec ’19) showed plenty of pace as they approached the first bend and he ran a great bend on the outside of Marshall to take up the lead and ran on well to win by a length in 16.73 for Georgina Gibbons.

Syd has a great record since arriving with Georgina as he has only finished outside of the first 3 in just 1 of his 19 races.

Congratulations Danny

Brandywell local and regular patron of the Track, Danny McGilloway enjoyed success in a different sport on the other side of the Irish Sea this week. He won a bronze medal at the British Masters Judo Championship, Kyu Grade (under 90kgs) at Guildford on Saturday.