Irish Performance of the Week - 15 September 2026
The final of the BOYLE Sports Irish Greyhound Derby was the feature of last week's action in Ireland where there were some smart times away from Shelbourne as well.
Derby number six for Graham Holland headlines the week
No trainer had ever won more than four Irish Derbies before Cheap Sandwiches landed Graham Holland a fifth last year. It is a testament to the entire team at Riverside Kennels that an incredible sixth was added at the weekend by Bockos Gold.
The huge 85lb son of Coolavanny Hoffa has always been well regarded by connections, Ian Fortune releasing a screenshot from owner Graham Box from June 2025 of a trial clock with a message that read. "Next year's winner" how right he was! He is blessed with all-around speed and a natural will to win and he is every inch a champion.
There were some flying times from Daleroad Magic at Tralee ahead of his trips to England, making the final of the Arc Puppy Classic at Nottingham. On his first run back at Tralee on Saturday night, he produced his best yet, stopping the clock under 28 seconds. He is just the fourth dog this year to do so. Of the others, Ballycowen Frank won a Race of Champions, and a Dundalk International while Ballymac Deniro made an English Derby final!
Gizmo Mystery produced a very smart 400y time at Dundalk, just nine spots off the quickest of the year which was set by Magical Jason. That runner showed what he can do with his demolition job in the Northamptonshire Sprint semis at Towcester on Sunday. Gizmo Mystery was a quarter-finalist in the recent Sprint Cup at this track, stepping up on those times with this success.
There was a new fastest of the year at Limerick over 575y from Monbeg Notorious. He took seven goes to get off the mark but has now won three of his last four. In his defence, his first four starts took him to the final of the Michael Fortune Memorial/Future Champion Unraced at Enniscorthy.
There are not too many miles on the clock for Yurty Magurty given that he is rolling round towards his third birthday. He has kept some smart company in his 20 race starts, making the semis of the Islandbridge Sprint at Shelbourne where the first three home were Stonepark Browne, Tiermana Dream and Bomber Nina. His Lifford sprint last week was good for third quickest of the year.
