High Five for Tarbert's Patrick O'Connor
Second from Left Sponsor Paddy Reidy presents the winning trophy to Jimmy Griffin from Tralee after Jeffs Hi Ace won the Paddy Reidy Glin 550 at the Bee for Battens, The Saoirse Foundation Fundraiser in the Kingdom Greyhound Stadium Tralee on Saturday... Credit: PICTURE: DENIS WALSH PHOTOGRAPHY
Wednesday September 01 2010
ONE man most definitely stole the show at Tralee Track last Saturday night, on the occasion of a hugely successful benefit meeting for Bee For Battens, the Saoirse Foundation. That was Tarbert trainer, Patrick O'Connor, who achieved a remarkable five-timer at accumulated odds of close to 100/1.
O'Connor did have eleven runners on a superbly-sponsored 12race programme, but nobody could have expected him to win with almost half of them and, most appropriately, one of those winners was for Kenmare owner, Jim Brosnan, who put in massive work to ensure the success of the night.
Jim Brosnan's dog, Saleen Neidin ( Top Honcho – Doonard Lower), produced a brilliant turn of early pace in the eighth race, for A2 class, to get himself into a clear winning position and he wound up winning by six and a half lengths from Green Flash in a career best 28.72.
Saleen Neidin was the third part of Patrick O'Connor's five-timer, which was initiated in the final of a novice 2 525 sweepstake (race 4) by Six Joys ( Top Honcho – Gold Seacrest), jointly owned by Eric and Sinead O'Connor. Six Joys did everything right from a trap 1 draw and she raced home five lengths ahead of her main market rival, Tans Book, in a superb 28.84, justifying even money favouritism in the process.
The second of Patrick O'Connor's winners came in a 750yds race and the one to do the business for him here was Saleen Ruby (Kingdom Law – Saleen Spring), owned by Patrick's father, Tom. Saleen Ruby, which flew out of trap 4, was well challenged by Bobs Fault as the race progressed, but she had all the answers from the fifth bend home and beat Bobs Fault by five and a half lengths in 42.40.
On a night of tremendously fast times generally, Patrick O'Connor's own bitch, Saleen Paris ( Top Honcho – Saleen Chloe), gave him his fourth victory when winning the ninth race over the standard trip. Saleen Paris flew to the first bend from a trap 3 draw and she clocked a brilliant 28.66 on her way to a twolength victory over Undercover Rocky.
The Patrick O'Connor five-timer was completed in race 10, over 570yds, by Bellewood Prince ( Brett Lee – Shanless Euro), jointly owned by Declan Moylan and Noreen McManus, wife of JP. The lead off the first bend was claimed by Ballymac Lomu, but Bellewood Prince was the one in second place and he won a great battle to the line by half a length from Cool Model, which short-headed Ballymac Lomu for the runner-up spot, The time was 31.55.
One wonders if any trainer has had five winners at Tralee Track before this. It was certainly a remarkable achievement and it happened on a night when Patrick and Tom O'Connor made the outstanding gesture of donating a well-bred pup (Crash – Saleen Tanya) for a raffle to aid Bee For Battens. Better still, the O'Connors have undertaken to rear and train the pup free of charge, to really make it a prize worth winning, and, for sure, a gesture like that deserved to be rewarded, even if the O'Connors themselves could not possibly have expected to win five of twelve races.
On a night when the Maurice O'Connortrained Scarty Paddy clocked 28.62, the other winners were: Cu Na Ri, 30.29; Send It Volume, 27.82; Jeffs Hi Ace, 30.71; Ballymac Jackson, 28.78; Kielduff Merc, 42.18; Farran Bomber, 31.46.
