Stand by for some special action at Shelbourne Park on Saturday night where the second round heats of the College Causeway/Killahan Phanter Easter Cup are expected to provide some red-hot racing.

Except for a few high profile absentees most of the big names will be chasing the €25,000 prize when the classic commences at Shelbourne on Saturday.

Champion Irish greyhound trainer Paul Hennessy will branch out tomorrow night when he saddles his first two runners at a horse race meeting.

IT has been a mixed week for PJ Fahy and his son Conor but they can reap the benefit of their Wimbledon controversy in tonight’s opening round of the Hegarty Bookmakers Open 600 at Shelbourne Park.

PJ FAHY’S plan to contest this year’s English Derby was scuppered even before it got underway yesterday. Fahy and his trainer-son Conor brought five intended challengers over for trials in advance of the Derby but an altercation with Wimbledon official Gary Matthews resulted in the Galway team leaving for home without trialling their dogs and having rescinded their earlier plans.

The appointment of Phil Meaney as Chairman of Bord na gCon, as exclusively reported in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, was confirmed yesterday morning by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney.

DOLORES Ruth is responsible for the favourite in both semi-finals of the College Causeway/Killahan Phanter Easter Cup at Shelbourne Park this evening and while both look likely to qualify for next week's final they will need to be on their toes to emerge on top this evening.

The Irish team has made a fine start to the Scottish Derby and three members will be in action in the semi-finals at Shawfield on Saturday.

It’s another very exciting week with top class open racing at many venues.

LAST weekend’s Juvenile Classic winner Rockview Head was a late withdrawal from the Red Mills Produce Stakes and his name did not figure in the draw for the first round which will be run tomorrow and Sunday at Clonmel.

THE draws for both the Roches Feeds Oaks at Limerick and Tote Gold Cup at Shelbourne were deferred until today, though both events had achieved their target number of entries.

NEWS from across the water yesterday is that one of the biggest entries for many years will go into the draw on Sunday for the first round of the Williamhill.com English Derby and among them there will be one of the biggest ever Irish raiding teams.

BLARNEY trainer John Linehan will be breaking new ground when he challenges for the Williamhill.com English Derby with his Curraheen Park qualifier Droopys Sastre.

LEADING owner P.J. Fahy suffered a double blow this week as two of his outstanding trackers have been struck by injury that will force them to miss major engagements.

The College Causeway/Killahan Phanter Easter Cup picture changed drastically yesterday when two high-profile withdrawals from next Saturday’s second round resulted in Thurlesbeg Joker becoming a very hot favourite to land the prestigious Shelbourne Park feature.

CLONMEL manager Eddie Anderson was a very pleased man yesterday when he reported that the Red Mills Produce Stakes had filled with 96 entries and all is now in readiness for the great feature which is the highlight of the racing year at the South Tipperary venue.

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