Sports

GIVEN that she ran a 525 yards race in Shelbourne Park just 24 hours earlier, the success of the Ennis-owned Peggy in the €3,500 to the winner of final of the John and Mary Dowling 570 Memorial final in Tralee Greyhound Racing Stadium last Friday night was all the more remarkable.Trained by Stephen Murray of Sixmilebridge for Frankie Sheehan of Ennis, the daughter of Black Shaw-Sheehans Cottage was runner up in a 525-yards race in Shelbourne Park on Thursday night. On Friday she was called in as a reserve for the Tralee final when Nicken Shaw, who was expecdted to go off favourite from trap four, was withdrawn.But despite her exertions of the previous night, Peggy was again in bouncing form for Tralee and in springing her 5/1 shock win, the Ennis-owned bitch was only in fourth place going down the back behind Friendandcomrade, Croom Star, the even money favourite and Bobs Fault. Into the third bend the favourite went …

CLARE owners drew a blank at the national coursing meeting in Clonmel at the beginning of the month and they also failed to collect any silverware at the Irish Cup meeting at the Limerick racecourse near Patrickswell last weekend.There was an anti climax to the final fixture of the 2010-2011 coursing season when there was no final of the JP McManus Irish Cup worth €80,000 to the winner. Derby favourite Derby Pines (Castle Pines- Caoimhes Susie) trained by Brendan Matthews, was declared the winner after the Michael O’ Donovan trained Moot Point (Matt Hyland-Miss Preston) was withdrawn after a heavy hunt in the semi-final.This was the second Irish Cup win on the trot for Newry legend Matthews who was also successful in 2010 with Bexhill Brian. Derby Pines was a 7/1 chance before coursing started on Friday.The first Clare-owned dog into slips on Friday was the George Gallery-trained Colossal Storm (33/1) but he made a first round exit at the …

THE Limerick-Clare branch of Showjumping Ireland held their annual awards dinner dance at the Woodlands Hotel, Adare, last weekend. There was a full house with over 250 people attending and over 60 awards were presented to breeders and owners, horse, amateur and pony riders.The Owners/Breeders Awards were presented to Willie Boland, Tulla; Jimmy Flynn, Ennis and Noel Nihill, Raheen.David Blake from Scariff won the Senior Leading Rider and Leading Young Rider awards. Joan Greene, Newmarket-on-Fergus and Paul O’Shea, Askeaton won Leading Horse awards.International Awards were also presented to Clare riders. Robbie Clancy, Sixmilebridge, won Leading U-10 Rider; Kieran Barry, Toonagh, won Leading 128cm Open Rider; Hannah Power, Ballyea, won Leading 138cm Open Rider; Tom Foley, Tulla, won Leading 148cm Open Rider; Noelle Barry, Toonagh, won an International Award for Children on Horses, while Tom Foley won an International Pony Award.The Hall of Fame award went to long serving members of the branch, Norman and Liz Wheeler, Patrickswell.  

GORT trainer Norman Lee was on the mark when his 4/1 shot Ollies Gal ran out an impressive winner of the concluding mares’ maiden at last Sunday’s County Limerick Hunt meeting at Rathcannon.Up front from an early stage in this 13-runner contest, Ollies Gall quickened up really well in the closing stages under Charleville jockey James ‘Corky’ Carroll to beat runner-up Royal Robin by 10 lengths.Lee, who has 15 horses under his wing at his impressive training base at Kilmacduagh, was delighted with what was his second win since he started out training less than 12 months ago.He said, “This is a good, tough mare and I’m very pleased for her owner, Bertie Mannion from Roscommon, who is a good supporter of mine. We’ll go for a winners’ race with her now and her ultimate target is the Gain Mares’ Final at Ballynoe in April.”Interestingly, the Lee name in no stranger to race horse training, given that Norman’s father, Christy, …

St Joseph’s Miltown     1-9    Kilrush            1-9 AN injury time Jamie Gilligan goal helped Kilrush to pick up a valuable point at Hennessy Memorial Park in Miltown last Sunday.

Clare   2-14    Antrim   2-13 The relief was clear on manager Ger O’Loughlin’s face on Sunday when, for the second year in a row, Clare came to Casement Park, finished with 14 men, left Belfast cursing a missed opportunity and returned home with a barely deserved one-point National Hurling League Division Two win.

The time has come for the Clare footballers to take the gloves off. Their year hangs on winning on Sunday against Carlow in Dr Cullen Park. Although they hammered Kilkenny two weeks ago in Miltown, Clare lost their last meaningful game.

Cooraclare    4-8    Wolfe Tones    3-6Cooraclare made a winning start to their Garry Cup campaign when they accounted for Wolfe Tones in a tie played under lights in Cooraclare on Saturday evening.