Irish Performance of the Week - 12 August 2026
There was plenty of decent action in Ireland last week but nothing topped the opening round of the BOYLE Sports Irish Greyhound Derby at Shelbourne Park.
Irish Derby is underway
The opening round of the BOYLE Sports Irish Greyhound Derby proved to be an eventful couple of days with a few spectacular performances but also some big names heading straight out of the competiton, including the English Derby champion, Lennies Eddie.
Bouncing Monarch got night two off to the perfect start for the competition as a whole with a flying 29.10, the quickest in the opening round heats. That was matched late on the same evening by Sleight Of Hand who is from a very promising looking litter who are just starting to make an impact both in Ireland and the UK.
There was another smart win at Limerick from Lennies Desire who picked up the final of the Irish Cambridgeshire. He was not at his best in his trips over the Irish Sea this year, but he has won six of his last seven contests on home soil
Cill Dubh Cothal took the Cork prize for the second week on the bounce in the final of he Kasko Derby. It was only the fifth start of his life and he was winning for the third occasion, marking himself down as a very smart prospect in the process.
In the opening round of the Munster Oaks, there was a very smart performance from Magical Be Nifty. She had landed the final of the Galway Oaks on her most recent start and followed that up with an effort that moved her into ninth place overall for the year for times over the 525y trip.
