Irish Performance of the Week - 18 November 2025
It was the final of the Puppy Oaks last week, we take a look at the winner of that Shelbourne contest as well as the best run from each of the Irish tracks last week.
Top runs from Ireland last week
The final of the Gourmet Island Puppy Oaks was at the weekend, where winner Ballydoyle Tina produced a 28.13 run to claim the award. She is only a June 24 whelp, winning a race like this at 17 months suggests that she is a precocious talent for Graham Holland. There is an awful lot to look forward to in 2026 for her connections.
Another very promising type for next year is Honey Scout. His 17.48 run at Cork is tied for the 8th quickest of the year and with the likes of Road Exile (17.36) and Born Racer (17.39) only a little ahead of him, it has to go down as a sensational run on just the second start of his career.
It was the final of the Pat Doran Memorial Fair Warrior at Mullingar, with Gem Friendly completing an unbeaten run through the event. He had found life tougher after a winning debut at Dundalk but this contest has brought out the best of him. The three quickest times of 2025 all belong to him from the second round, semi-final and final.
It was an excellent week for the sprint times, with Clona Comet tying the seventh quickest time of the year over Dundalk's 400y trip. Only Lennies Tank, Broadstrand Syd and Magical Luka have gone quicker than him, and it was his first run in almost four months.
