This year’s Dublin Coach Juvenile Derby ranks up there with the best we have experienced in years and, rather unusually, most of the original ante-post favourites have survived to the finale
There should be a huge crowd at Harold’s Cross for a race that will leave us so much more informed regarding the strength of the racing talent for next year.
The two outstanding favourites prior to the opening round were Bull Run Bolt and Droopys Wilbury and they are still firmly entrenched at the top of the betting while the other big two in the better, Droopys Smasher and Coolio, were also very much to the fore.
The general favourite with all firms is Bull Run Bolt, one of two finalists for owner Mark Lowther. The two Lowther runners are handled by different trainers with Pat Norris the man in charge of Bull Run Bolt while his other finalist Droopys Wilbury is one of two finalists trained by Pat Buckley.
Bull Run Bolt came into this event just a week after landing a thrilling Texacloth Juvenile Derby at Newbridge and he has done nothing but enhance his reputation since. He brings a record of seven straight wins into the final, and deserves his rating of 7-4 favourite to land the €22,500 prize.
A very strong runner, he goes up better than most people acknowledge and packs a big finishing burst. By all accounts he should turn into the back in at worst third place with Peter Cronin’s Mustang Kasco and John Linehan’s Droopys Jock the possible leaders. From there it would be difficult to prevent Bull Run Bolt from scoring.
The other Lowther finalist is the Pat Buckley trained Droopys Smasher, the only female finalist and a lady that packs a huge finishing burst. Occasionally she can hit the lid also and if she does lead she will be very hard to beat. The more likely scenario is that she might struggle to the bend before launching her renowned finishing run.
SHEER CLASS
Buckley entered the once-raced Droopys Wilbury into the classic and his sheer class has helped him overcome the lack of experience by reaching the final.
He is owned by Robert Brinkley and is entitled to improve substantially given his increasing experience and his proximity to the inside.
This is a pacey greyhound and he was only beaten half a length by Bull Run Bolt in the opening round. That margin can be easily reversed if he can make a slick start.
The other big fancy for the final is the traditionally slow starter Coolio which represents the Galway duo of Tom Burke and John Byrne. To have a real winning chance this fellow needs to improve his start but he can finish probably as fast, if not faster, than any of the other finalists. This fellow has 600 yards written all over him in bold capitals!
We have mentioned the early capabilities of Mustang Kasco and Droopys Jock. The latter doesn’t quite fully see out the 525 trip but he will test anything to the last bend and, remember, finals are finals and anything can happen!
Mustang Kasco was only just behind Bull Run Bolt in the Texacloth final at Newbridge and he is a model of consistency. He is drawn to run a lovely race for Sean Burke and Pat Dalton Jnr.
To sum up, the nomination goes to Bull Run Bolt but it is a very marginal one over Droopys Wilbury and Droopys Smasher.
