NIFTY AND LIGHTNING SET UP COMPETITIVE ANN CHEEVERS FINAL

Peter Farrell

In an action-packed night on both sides of the water, the semi-finals of the Ann Cheevers Memorial A3/A4 525 also took centre stage at Galway Greyhound Stadium.

The faster of the two semi-final winners was Magical Be Nifty, who made it back-to-back victories in the stake after following up her sensational 28.52 opening-round success. As a result, the June puppy was sent to traps as the 1/2 favourite and she duly justified that support with another polished display for Patrick and Donal Guilfoyle. Drawn in trap four, the daughter of Droopys Jet and Magical Poppy was once again quickly into stride, edging ahead of both Portumna Syd and Glengar Sofia on the run to the opening bend. In doing so, she established a three-length advantage down the back straight and showed tremendous strength thereafter, powering up the Galway hill to keep Glengar Sofia at bay. At the line, three lengths separated the pair, while Portumna Syd claimed the final qualifying position in third. The winning time was an excellent 28.79, recorded on a track rated .20 slow.

The second semi-final was landed in equally impressive fashion by Laois Lightning, who bounced back from defeat in the opening round. Owned by Gordon Vaughan and trained by Donal Duggan, the consistent performer was in search of a fifteenth career success and duly delivered. Drawn in trap one, ‘Laois’ was forced to bide his time in the early stages behind the pace-setting Notsobadnow. However, the 4/6 favourite produced a terrific opening bend to seize control and, in doing so, the son of Ballymac Anton and Old Treasure quickly established a decisive advantage at the halfway mark. From there, the outcome never looked in doubt as Laois Lightning powered clear to score by four lengths from Lissatouk Robbie in second. Fiftycents Gar secured the final qualifying berth in third, while the winner stopped the clock in a smart 28.97 .20s.

The draw for the final of the 2026 Ann Cheevers Memorial was made shortly after and is as follows :

T1 - FIFTYCENTS GAR

T2 - LAOIS LIGHTNING

T3 - MAGICAL BE NIFTY

T4 - GLENGAR SOFIA

T5 - PORTUMNA SYD

T6 - LISSATOUK ROBBIE