There has been a hugely positive response to the return of greyhound racing to Lifford and the highlight of two nights racing this Bank Holiday weekend will come on Sunday with two finals taking place.
The penultimate race on Sunday’s card is the Droopy’s Stud S3 525 Final with €600 up for grabs for the winner.
The Kealan O’Kane owned and trained Blackstone Range is likely to be the favourite, having been drawn in trap one, and following an impressive semi-final success last time out in a fine time of 17.83, ahead of Miss Scion and Old Fort Jukebox.
The winner of the other semi-final, Ardnasool Jetson, owned by Adrian McGhee and trained by Niall McGhee, will also be well-backed, having clocked 17.88 in his semi-final success ahead of Scary Junction and Roberstown Lass. He will depart from trap five.
The Droopys Stud A4 525 Final is a fitting concluding race and sees a €630 first prize.
Do It Bob, for Andrew White, will he strongly fancied. He won on the first night of racing back at the stadium and followed that up with a semi-final victory last Sunday in a time of 24.47 with three lengths to spare, ahead of Astro Blaze and Brother Len.
Drawn in trap six, he will need to get away well as he did in the previous outing.
Neon Blue, who starts the final in trap two, completed a double for Clady based trainer Alan Byrne last Sunday when he surged to victory with a late burst of considerable pace in the second semi-final in a decent time of 29.19 with Rosshill Wildcat and Catch The Swallows also qualifying.
Also on the card for Sunday will be a mixture of one off races, including an SSO 325, A3 575, A1 575, A2 575 and an ON1/ON2 325.
Sunday’s racing gets underway at 6.00 pm.
Before that, there will be action on Friday evening with the first race at 7.45 pm.
Meanwhile, there has been great reaction from punters regarding the tote dividends. Under the new model, the tote retains less, and consequently more is paid out.
Already this month, there have been two big trio (trifecta) dividends of €297.40 and €247.40 and five forecast (exacta) dividends of more than €50, based on a €1 stake.
For more details on racing in Lifford see www.liffordstadium.com, and to see the racecards in full see Upcoming Race Cards (grireland.ie)
Results. Sunday, April 23rd
Race 1, Welcome to Lifford A3 525: Neon Lights, 29.06
Race 2, Droopys Stud S3 325 Semi-Final: Ardnasool Jetson, 17.88
Race 3, Droopys Stud S3 325 Semi-Final: Blackstone Range, 17.83
Race 4, Droopys Stud A4 525 Semi-Final: Do It Bob, 29.47
Race 5, Droopys Stud A4 525 Semi-Final: Neon Blue, 29.19
Race 6, Lifford – Best Value Tote in the World SS0/SS1 325: Boherna Rio, 17.49
Race 7, Proud Supporters of Irish Retired Greyhound Trust A2 525: Eager Colm, 28.99
Race 8, Join Us Again Friday from 7.45 for More Action A1 525: Avenue Ava, 28.83