Slippery Fred can give rivals the slip in decider
Larry Dunne’s dog was beaten in each of the last two rounds, but began his bid for this stake with a flying 28.07 first-round victory from trap one, which he returns to this time.
Using the inside line is crucial to his chance, as he must prevent Proud Graham or Sidarian Vega taking the rails position before the turn.
If, as expected, he can achieve that, he will be very hard to beat.
The danger may come from Fair Taxes, who has a favourable draw, but may have to come from behind three runners, unless he can really fly from the boxes.
The 2016 Greyhound & Petworld Supersprint gets underway at Curraheen, with six opening-round heats, and Hee Haws Sheriff can mark himself down as the one to beat by taking the fourth heat for trainer Ian Reilly.
Winner of the Gain Select Stakes at Waterford and runner-up in the Juvenile Derby at Harold’s Cross, Ian Reilly’s dog isn’t the strongest over 525 yards but possesses tremendous early dash.
To date, his only competitive sprint came on his debut, last May at Harold’s Cross, and he posted a top-class 17.50. Clearly he’s unexposed in this sphere, and can take this at the expense of Nickys Assassin.
The opening-heat clash of former Puppy Derby winner Quietly and Ballymac Sexton, who posted a brilliant debut effort here last week, is another highlight of the round.
While the former has the experience and the proven class, the latter is on a steep upward curve, has the benefit recent outings, and looks well drawn in trap two.
The March pup has the potential to grow into a genuine contender for outright honours, and is just preferred to Quietly.
The nap at Curraheen goes to Obvious, who can make the most of a favourable draw in the opening race.
Bernard McCarthy’s dog hasn’t enjoyed much luck in running in recent outings, but showed enough spark in those outings to suggest he can still score at A2 level.
With a slow starter on his outer, he can make use the inside line to slip around in front, and is taken to fend off the likely challenge of Springwood Messi.
