A Derry owned greyhound has become the second fastest dog ever to win a race at Lifford Stadium.
When it comes to being the ‘King of Lifford’ these days then look no further than Velvet Helsinki, owned by Sean Melly and Darren Fahy.
He had a superb run to win the Proud Supporters of Irish Retired Greyhound Trust S0/S1 in 17.35 on Sunday.
That was the second fastest ever run over the distance and just five spots off the course record.
And Helsinki Velvet has now won three races in four starts.
The 4/6 favourite, the son of Ballymac Best and Queen Adele, was three lengths clear of Shrewd Sapphire in second.
The course record over the sprint 325 yard distance was broken by Corbrack Prince at the gala reopening night of Lifford Stadium on April 2nd.
The previous record was held by Jamellas Phantom and dated back over 20 years to January 2003.
Meanwhile, there was a sensational finish to the Droopys Stud S3 325 Final where Ardnasool Jetson owned by Lifford’s Adrian McGhee and trained by Niall McGhee, won by a short head in 17.70 to fend off the challenge of Scary Junction in a photo finish.
The Droopys Stud A4 525 Final – the feature race of the night with €630 for the winner – was a more straightforward affair as Brother Len obliged for Norman and Raymond Lecky as he had more than two lengths to spare to win in 24.49.
They also owned Catch The Swallows, who finished second to boost their bank balance by a further €200 while Rosshill Wildcat was third.
And after the result was confirmed there was plenty of talk among the punters with the tote trio paying €512.70 – the highest dividend since the reopening of the stadium.
The opening race, the Welcome to Lifford Stadium S1/S2, was won by La Rey in 17.85, who had just half a length to spare over Maxlite.
The second race, the Lifford Best Value Tote in the World S3/S4 325, produced an exciting finish with RaffGall Kate edging out Killough Buddy by half a length in 17.91 who in turn was just a neck ahead of Robbie Be Good.
China May is being dubbed as the ‘Queen of Lifford’ after she made it three wins in a row in Lifford, triumphing on this occasion in the third race, the Dromana Bucko Standing at Droopys Stud A3 575 for owner and trainer Cathal Maguire. She impressed with a near six length win over Long Range Jack in a decent time of 31.54.
Tahina Jordan came out on top in the Pestana standing at Droopys Stud ON1/ON2 525 in a time of 18.01 for Jason Croarkin from Roslea.
The Serene Ace standing at Droopys Stud A2 525 was won by Neon Lights in 28.93 for trainer Alan Byrne from Clady.
The penultimate race of the evening, the Coolavanny Calvin standing at Droopys Stud SS0 325 saw a quality line up with Kilgarran Timmy quickest in 17.49 to take the honours with almost five lengths to spare over Matt’s Memory.
The final race, the Doratas Wildcat standing at Droopys Stud A1 525, resulted in the Brendan Duffy owned Brakes are Off clocking a very respectable 28.77.
Meanwhile, there were some great forecasts and trios on the night that confirmed that greyhound racing is well and truly back at Lifford Stadium.
Racing this Friday begins at 7.45 pm while on Sunday the first race is at 6.00 pm.
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