SETANTA RETURNS WITH A SPRINT

Ian Fortune

Ballymac Setanta, one of the favourites for the BOYLE Sports Irish Greyhound Derby, returns to action at Shelbourne Park on Saturday night with the brilliantly fast son of Ballymac Best set to run in the open sprint.

Of course, Liam Dowling’s star is no stranger to two bend action after debuting in the opening round of the Irish Sprint Cup at Dundalk before going on to reach the quarter-finals of the classic despite his inexperience. A week later he would win an open sprint at Limerick in a rapid 18.46.

However, it was in the Laurels at Cork that he really started to make headlines. Posting three sub 28-second runs in the prelims, including a track record equalling 27.81 in the third round, he would be sent off the 7-4 joint favourite in the decider only to find traffic.

He had just one more race in 2025, chasing home Cheap Sandwiches in the Winter Racing Festival Open 550. Despite suffering defeat, he displayed incredible pace highlighting his ability to make waves over the Derby trip in the future.

That was some twelve weeks ago. He now returns to action and many will be keeping a keen eye on how he performs. It will be interesting to see how he is campaigned in the early months of the year with the Easter Cup, Kirby Memorial and English Derby all possible targets, although one suspects the main aim will be a tilt at the BOYLE Sports Irish Derby in late summer, early autumn.