History maker

Saturday night’s second-round action in the Connolly’s Red Mills Irish Laurels saw racing at Curraheen Park brought to a whole new level when Liam Dowling’s Ballymac Vic became the first greyhound to break the 28-second barrier in competitive action at the venue.

The one-time Derby favourite left some very useful rivals for dead as he led all the way in a stunning 27.94, taking nine spots off the old mark.

Shane Dowling, son of trainer Liam, said: “He was always close enough to doing it, I suppose. He was the dog of the Derby the first three rounds and he was just unfortunate to miss the break [in the quarter-finals]. We always knew he had it in him, but that run was exceptional.

“He’s a great dog with a great temperament — everything about him is top class. My father and [aunt] Jane and the lads at home are the people behind him.

“It (setting a new track record) doesn’t happen too often but when it does you have to savour it. But it’s only the second round and there’s a long way to go yet.”

The round began in fabulous fashion, with the Paul Hennessy-trained Money Talks accounting for Derby runner-up Cuil Cougar in 28.11. Of the rapidly progressive tracker, Hennessy said: “He’s a right one. I didn’t think at this stage that we’d be this close [on the clock] to Ballymac Vic — I’m a huge admirer of that dog — but we’re only a couple of lengths off him.

“There is no reason why he shouldn’t improve more, but that’s putting woeful pressure on an inexperienced dog. The world is his oyster.”

In heat two, the Tom O’Neill-trained Tafari followed up her opening-round success with a strong-running 28.54 victory. Said O’Neill: “We didn’t expect that when we entered her. I knew from the third bend that she’d win because she’s very strong home.

“She’s a tough lady and it’s nice to get to the quarter-final.”

Ashfield Impact upset better-fancied rivals when leading all in heat three. Trainer Vincent Morris said of the 28.32 winner: “He has nice early and he seemed to stay the 525 well. He struggles a bit at times but hopefully with age he will stay that bit better.”

Ned Kerrisk’s Cambushmore, trained by Graham Holland, landed some nice wagers with a 28.41 victory in heat four. “We laid him off after the Dundalk race (Irish Sprint Cup) and hopefully he’ll qualify away and get fitter each time — that’s what you try to do,” said Holland.

Trainer Rachel Wheeler enjoyed a fine double when Camas Crash’s victory in heat five was followed up by that of Boherna House in heat seven. The former missed the kick but ran strongly to beat Razldazl Rioga by two lengths, in 28.56.

“I’m over the moon after that” said Wheeler. “He is nowhere near fit yet. He was off for two whole months — he was really sick. He’s going to get better with every run so if he can keep qualifying he’ll be peaking at just the right time.”

Boherna House was paw-perfect in his heat, leading all, in 28.14. Added Wheeler: “He’s coming of age. He’s just a bit erratic — you never know when he’s going to hit it or miss it. It’s a nice boost for the kennel because after getting the cough we were on a bit of a downer.”

Liveanddangerous was sent off odds-on in the final heat but Prima Vera, trained by John Kiely for Stephen Buckley, stayed on resolutely to see off the market leader by a neck in 28.66.

Kiely said: “She didn’t trap tonight but she ran very well. She’s wide, and misses the trouble on the inside. It’s great to have two (Prima Vera and Sede Vacante) in the quarter-finals.”