THE scheduled Sunday action opened with a double for the in-form Timlin yard from Fermanagh. Farrier Darren Timlin produced Big Mac Delight on the final turn to out-run the luckless Lord Sugar and Patrick Kane jnr. The five-year-old maiden opened at 5/1.

Darren’s double came in the very next race when Flatteur rattled off time 14 seconds faster than the Maven Final in taking the Dublin Plant Hire trot.

“He’s the best trotter in Ireland,” was heard from the elated connections. There will be plenty of other stables that make the same claim of their horses, it all makes for an exciting late season programme as Flatteur climbs the grades.

The outsider of 10 runners, Dinah Washington (Sean Kane) was a distant second, a nice fillip for owners O’Mahony and Crowley.

The layers got a screamer in the Astra Construction Pace when Indie Hanover, who had track form, gained a well-deserved win for Dubliner Derek Jennings. IB A Warrior and Springhill Biscuit are nice yardsticks to beat.

Teasing

Alan Wallace snr has had plenty of teasing about his mentions in this column. This time it was Alan jnr who enjoyed a comprehensive victory aboard Eva Dairpet, an owner’s double for Derek Jennings. Eliothorpe (Gavin Murdock) lost nothing in defeat and will pick up races.

The two big finals came next in the running order, to suit ‘at home’ viewers.

In America, it is considered a tactical error if a professional driver gets trapped on the outside or ‘parked’ to use US jargon. However, in France the public do not seem to mind perhaps because they have 18-runner fields whereas 10 horses is the norm stateside.

The 2020 Maven Trot winner Aubade A Helene was two-wide for at least a lap before she out-battled Abraham for the €7,000 cheque. Aubade’s run was another example of the toughness of the Trotteur Français breed. The Duggans can go back to Galbally proud of Abraham who was similarly gutsy.

One panellist on the preview had noted that Benny Camden had ‘class and guts‘ – which proved accurate. In the Red John Final, Rhyds Rival (JR) went clear in the final quarter before Donal Murphy got after Benny Camden and they prevailed by a hard fought half-length.

Two consolation finals ensued for runners that did not make the feature finals. Two drivers who had not got on the score sheet managed a win. Jonny Cowden won the trot version with the consistent Cilando Des Temps, while Billy Roche had to wait until the penultimate race of the 21-race card for a win with Panam Colt.

John Shanahan and Timmy ‘Cool Hands’ O’Leary brought up a double at the meeting when the lightly raced four-year-old American Rebel sprang a surprise over Ladyford Buck (Gavin Murdock). Some Shanahan supporters spotted collecting would indicate that the Rogue Hall gelding had been working well at home.

The ‘endurance test’ meeting closed with a well-backed winner driven by Wayne Swindle for ‘longest traveller’ Shane Gallagher from Castlefin. If the Donegal horsemen would embrace harness racing with the enthusiasm they gave to pony racing, the region could be a useful new market for horses.