WEST CORK, IR – Only a few hours into the new year and there was more fireworks at the annual New Years Day harness racing fixture in Durrus .
All last season the meetings of Rhyds Ponder and Maitha Buachaill have proved the talking point on all race goers lips and on Monday they served up another classic to rival any of their previous meetings.
Both horses took turns at leading which normally has Rhyds Ponder as the pace setter.
Coming off the final turn, Maitha Buachaill had Rhyds Ponder in his sights, and took up the mantle and looked a winner in the final 200 yards, but Deirdre Goggin had one more effort on Ponder and overtook the winner to win by two lengths .
Like all personal duels the talk already is of another rematch in Ballygurteen on Jan 14th.
This was the second leg of a riding double for Deirdre Goggin, who earlier in the afternoon combined with her brother Micheal to land the Grade B & C aboard Saunders Paris.
This impeccably bred filly is the apple in the eye of the Goggin family and led home Lakeview Walter and the die hards of racing were even talking about the possibility of Saunders Paris meeting "The Big Two" later in the year.
Sunnyside Kildare and Hillside Aurelius both winners in Drimoleague both contiued their winning runs.
Hillside Aurelius made every yard of the Novice contest over a mile and led home Shanes Income and newcomer Kentucky Finale.
Sunnyside Kildare was a warm order favorite in the betting ring and gave the odds on punters a small fright winning in a blanket finish in the Grade E contest .as always "Cool Hands"Timmy O'Leary was in the winning seat .
Fair Enough who finished second on his first run on tarmac in Drimoleague went one better today taking out an ultra competitive Grade D. Matthew O'Reilly had Fair Enough always near the front and hit the front in the final two furlongs to win by six lengths.
Fair Enough looks like a shrewd buy for owner Chris O Reilly (cousin of the winning jockey) who purchased him out of the Newtown Stud in October.
Sunday 14th January the action moves to Ballygurteen
Details on www.harnessracingcork.com
by Tim Kelleher, for Harnesslink
RESULTS
GRADE A (The Timmy Daly Memorial Cup)
- N Forbes RHYDS PONDER D Goggin
- Hegarty / Hurley MAITHA BUACHAILL J Hurley
- G Kane TACTICIAN DU LYS T O Leary
DIST 3L Dist 3 Ran
GRADE B & C (The PJ Barry Memorial Cup & Cottage Tables Cup)
- M Goggin Jnr SAUNDERS PARIS D Goggin
- R Joyce LAKEVIEW WALTER M O Reilly
- D McCarthy RHYDS DILEMMA A McCarthy
DIST 8L 2L 3 Ran
GRADE D (The John O Sullivan Memorial Cup)
- C O Reilly FAIR ENOUGH M O Reilly
- Cuigear Racing HILLSIDE MUSTANG J Healy
- One For the Road Syn IB TWEEDY J Hurley
DIST 6L 2L 6 Ran
GRADE E (The Charles Cremin & Jack Connolly Memorial Cup)
- S Buckley SUNNYSIDE KILDARE T O Leary
- D McCarthy ON THE OTHER SIDE D Goggin
- D McCarthy FAIRDAYS BRET A McCarthy
DIST 1L 1/2L 4 Ran
NOVICE (The Jan Goregrimes Memorial Cup)
- L O Brien HILLSIDE AURELIUS J Hurley
- McCarthy / Daly SHANES INCOME A McCarthy
- D McCarthy KENTUCKY FINALE D Goggin
DIST 6L 10L 3 Ran