2015 Irish Greyhound Derby

The 2015 Boylesports Irish Greyhound Derby took place during August and September with the final being held on 19 September 2015 at Shelbourne Park. The winner Ballymac Matt picked up the first prize of €125,000 that was on offer. [1] The competition was sponsored by Boylesports.

2015 Boylesports
Irish Greyhound Derby
LocationShelbourne Park
Start date13 August
End date19 September
Total prize money€125,000 (winner)

Final result

At Shelbourne Park (over 550 yards):[2]

PositionName of GreyhoundBreedingTrapSectionalSPFinish TimeTrainer
1st Ballymac MattTyrur Big Mike - Ballymac Scarlet33.463-129.63Liam Dowling
2nd Farloe BlitzPremier Fantasy - Final Oyster13.411-1f29.68Owen McKenna
3rd Farloe RumbleAce Hi Rumble - Final Oyster63.6016-129.73Owen McKenna
4th Peregrine FalconAce Hi Rumble - Minefield43.4912-129.79Patrick O’Brien
5th Cable BayFoleys Folley - Toms Delight23.676-129.82Brendan Matthews
6th Gaytime HawkWestmead Hawk - Gaytime Grettie53.507-229.93Graham Holland

Distances

¾, ¾, ¾, ½, 1½ (lengths)

Competition Race Report

Laughil Blake headed the Irish Derby entries after missing the English Greyhound Derby. Farloe Blitz joined him at the top of the ante-post betting after his English Derby campaign. Only one British connection travelled to Ireland to take part. Laughil Blake was taken out coughing before the first round and was retired to stud. When the action started Ballymac Matt went fastest during both the first and second rounds (29.43 & 29.47); Farloe Blitz impressed but Slippery Fred, Laughil Duke and Riverside Pat were all eliminated. [3] The night before the tricky third round a greyhound called Tyrur Van Gaal broke the track record, stopping the clock at 29.10; van Gaal had failed to make it past the first round.

Ballymac Matt recorded a third successive fastest round win in round three, setting a time of 29.44. [4] Peregrine Falcon remained the only other greyhound unbeaten recording 29.50 and Samiya looked good with a 29.46 success. Big names Farloe Blitz, Paradise Maverick and Sidarian Vega all squeezed through to the quarter-finals after third-place finishes in their respective heats, but Oaks champion Ballydoyle Honey failed to progress.

The quarter-finals saw Farloe Blitz bounce back to his best and easily winning the first heat; Rural Hawaii & Samiya made it no further. Heat two was won by Ballymac Matt, but his win time was bettered by other heat winners for the first time in the competition. The final two heats went to Gaytime Hawk and Peregrine Falcon; the former recorded 29.34 and the latter remained unbeaten. Paradise Maverick and Sidarian Vega both disappointed and made it no further. [5]

As the semifinals got underway, it was the four quarter-final heat winners that were the favourites to claim a place in the final on 13 September. Gaytime Hawk picked up the weaker heat from Farloe Rumble and Kirby Memorial Stakes champion Cable Bay. The much stronger second heat resulted in Farloe Blitz from trap 2 defeating Ballymac Matt from 1 with Peregrine Falcon claiming third from Save the Don. [5]

In the final Farloe Blitz was hot favourite after drawing the red jacket, but on paper the final looked very competitive. As the traps opened Farloe Blitz controlled the race as he maintained a nice lead from the start, but Ballymac Matt was prominent and pulled back Farloe Blitz on the run-in despite losing ground at the third bend. Ballymac Matt deserved the win, and Farloe Rumble finished strongly to take third place. Ballymac Matt later won the 2015 Irish Greyhound of the Year.


Quarter-finals

[6]

Semifinals

[7]

See also

References

  1. "2015 Irish Derby final". Irish Greyhound Board.
  2. "2015 final". Greyhound Data.
  3. "Matt stars in Irish Derby". Greyhound Star.
  4. "Results". Irish Greyhound Board.
  5. "Results". Irish Greyhound Board.
  6. "Quarter Final results". Irish Greyhound Board.
  7. "Semi Final results". Irish Greyhound Board.
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