The Irish Laurels Final Final is set to take place this Saturday with €30,000 going to the winner!
Last year the event was won by High Trend who won in 28.31 for trainer Graham Holland and the RT&C Syndicate and the dog has a chance of repeating that success on Saturday night.
2024 Irish Laurels Final Trap Draw
Trap 1 – Droopys Polish
Trap 2 – Romeo Taylor
Trap 3 – Seek The Kingdom
Trap 4 – Crafty Shivoo (W)
Trap 5 – High Trend (W)
Trap 6 – Hazelhill Bucko (W)
Irish Laurels Final Odds
Dog | Odds | Chance |
|---|---|---|
Crafty Shivoo (4) | 5/4 | 44.4% |
Romeo Taylor (2) | 7/4 | 36.4% |
Droopys Polish (1) | 5/1 | 16.7% |
High Trend (5) | 6/1 | 14.3% |
Seek The Kingdom (3) | 16/1 | 5.9% |
Hazelhill Bucko (6) | 16/1 | 5.9% |
Irish Laurels Final Preview
Trap 1 – Droopys Polish
Odds
Droopys Polish is priced at 5/1 to win the Laurels which suggests a 16.7% chance he wins the final on Saturday night.
Key Information
Best competition time: 28.54
Owner: The Boys Are Back In Town Syndicate
Trainer: John A. Linehan
Breeder: Sean Dunphy
Story of the Hound
In trap #1 we have the locally trained representative in the Laurels Final for trainer John Linehan, daughter of Droopys Sydney and Droopys Fia, Droopys Polish. The August 2022 whelp is ultra-consistent with 3 victories, 5 runner-up finishes and 3 third places from 15 races.
Droopys Polish is yet to land a heat victory in the Laurels but has continued to qualify throughout since her opening round second coming 4 lengths back of winner Road Exile from a sectional of 3.32. In the second round, she came closer coming 1 length back of Droopys Bookem who won in 28.49
The third round saw her stay on strongly again to qualify for the Semi-Final last weekend in third place and in the Semi-Final last weekend she overcame being bumped at the first bend to clock 28.55 in third place.
Strong Running Droopys Polish is in the final on merit and has the chance to become the second winner of the Classic for John Linehan after he trained Runnita Seeya who won in 2020 during Covid.
Trap 2 – Romeo Taylor
Odds
Romeo Taylor is priced at 7/4 giving him a 36.4% chance of landing trainer Graham Holland a second successive Laurels victory.
Key Information
Best competition time: 28.41
Owner: David Firmager
Trainer: Graham Holland
Breeder: David Fimager
Story of the Hound
In #2 we have May 2022 Romeo Taylor the son progeny of Newinn Taylor and Fabulous Mila and will be the first of two runners in the final looking to simultaneously retain the Laurels for trainer Graham Holland as well as his third success in the competition overall. He has a prolific 11 wins from 26 races.
Romeo Taylor clocked 3.34 and 28.67 in the opening round to finish 2.5 lengths back of Trionas Tribe. That was built on in the next round with a 3.33 and 28.55 enough to finish 1/2 a length ahead of Faypoint Harvey.
The third round saw him overcome being baulked at the first bend to stay on well and qualify in third place 3 lengths behind The Other Kobe. He won his Semi-Final last weekend from a 3.31 sectional he clocked 28.41 to come 2 lengths ahead of Droopys Polish.
Romeo Taylor is a serious contender for Saturday's Final.
Trap 3 – Seek The Kingdom
Odds
Seek The Kingdom is priced at 16/1 making him one of the outsiders with a 5.9% chance of winning the final.
Key Information
Best competition time: 28.38
Owner: Gerry Meaney & Miriam Meaney
Trainer: Paul Hennessy
Breeder: Maurice P. Sheehan
Story of the Hound
In #3 we have the oldest dog in the race September 2021 whelp Seek The Kingdom who is bred in the purple for Ballymac Vic and Jaytee Pearl for trainer Paul Hennessy. From 31 races the dog has 7 victories and has been inside the money positions 19 times.
Seek The Kingdom was somewhat fortunate to get over the first round after being baulked at the first bend he ran on for fourth place. However, the next weekend he showed his class breaking fast with a 3.30 and only being beaten by The Other Kobe by 2 lengths he still was clocking 28.38 the second fastest of all these dogs across the competition.
In the last two rounds, he has held on for qualification with two third places clocking 28.77 and 28.72. He will need a flash run similar to his second-round run to win but if he did, he could repeat the success of Ardkill Jamie who won for Paul Hennessy in 2006.
Trap 4 – Crafty Shivoo
Odds
Crafty Shivoo is your favourite with a price of 5/4 suggesting a 44.4% chance that Patrick Norris trains his first Laurels winner.
Key Information
Best competition time: 28.36
Owner: M-W-D Partnership Syndicate
Trainer: Patrick Norris
Breeder: Donal Beatty & Sean Beatty
Story of the Hound
In #4 we have our Laurels favourite, October 2021 whelp and the daughter of Droopys Sydney and Ballymac Sanjose for trainer Patrick Norris who is one of the fastest in training at the moment with an incredible 19 wins and 25 top-three finishes from 28 races.
She showed her class in the opening round breaking out in a 3.31 sectional went first before the first bend and made all to win in 28.36 coming 7 lengths clear of Getup Me Lad and followed that up in the second round with another win from a 3.38 she overcame trouble to win in 28.53 coming 1 length ahead of Drombeg Rio.
The third round saw her sole defeat of the Laurels finishing well to qualify in third place 3 lengths back of winner Faypoint Harvey. She was back to her breathtaking best last weekend from a 3.32 she clocked 28..42 coming 3 lengths ahead of runner-up Hazelhill Bucko.
A worthy favourite on current running and if she makes the first bend in front she will take some stopping!
Pat Norris speaking after the wonderful 28:42 winning success of Crafty Shivoo in opening Semi-Final of the @BarOneRacing Irish Laurels, in partnership with Friends & Supporters of Cork Greyhound Racing, at Curraheen Park.#GoGreyhoundRacing #ThisRunsDeep #IrishGreyhoundLaurels pic.twitter.com/UBnTy6WjbL
— Curraheen Park Greyhound Stadium (@CorkDogs) September 28, 2024
Trap 5 – High Trend
Odds
High Trend is priced at 6/1 giving him a 14.3% to retain his 2023 Laurels victory.
Key Information
Best competition time: 28.50
Owner: RT&C Syndicate
Trainer: Graham Holland
Breeder: Christopher Connolly
Story of the Hound
In trap #5 we have reigning champion High Trend, the son of Droopys Sydney and Beaming Smasher for trainer Graham Holland. The June 2021 whelp has 14 victories from 33 runs since debuting at Curraheen Park in June 2023.
High Trend was fortunate to qualify from the opening round finishing fourth and 4 lengths behind winner Road Exile. That was put right in the second round from a 3.34 sectional to finish strongly and 1 length ahead of Lemon Mick.
The third round saw him runner-up to The Other Kobe 2 lengths back but still clocking 28.70 from an eye-catching 3.23 sectional. He then booked his place in a second successive Laurels final last weekend finishing strongly to get a third place after overcoming trouble.
He has the opportunity to become the first back-to-back winner since Rockybay Foley who won in 2018 and 2019 for trainer Kieran Lynch.
Trap 6 – Hazelhill Bucko
Odds
Hazelhill Bucko is 16/1 to land the spoils on Saturday, this implies the dog has a 5.9% chance of success in the race.
Key Information
Best competition time: 28.41
Owner: Michael T. O’Connell
Trainer: Lucy Roche
Breeder: Michael T. O'Connell
Story of the Hound
In trap #6 we have one of our Laurels outsiders with the son of Dromana Bucko and Flat White for trainer Lucy Roche. This dog is lightly raced and has only been out of the money places on 3 occasions from 13 races.
In the opening round, he finished second 2 lengths behind winner Evolution with him clocking 3.38 and 28.41. In the second round, he stayed on well in third place to finish 3 lengths behind Droopys Bookem.
The third round saw his sole heat victory of the competition from a 3.40 sectional he finished strongly to finish a HD in front of Ballycowen Bell in 28.59. Last week saw him earn qualification in second place finishing 3 behind Crafty Shivoo who won in 28.42.
A lot would have to go his way to win on Saturday Night.
Irish Laurels Final Prediction
This is a high-quality Laurels field with a fascinating array of subplots for pundits to consider when staking their bets. However, I think as we have seen throughout the competition, the winner of this will be decided on who comes out ahead at the first bend with Romeo Taylor and Crafty Shivoo the primary contenders even with several fast finishers in the race.
Crafty Shivoo has been the most consistent dog in the competition and the one I’ve fancied since the first round though so I’m sticking with her to land the Laurels for Patrick Norris and team.
Prediction: Crafty Shivoo to win @ 5/4
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