Irish Performance of the Week - 19 August 2026
We take a look over the last week of racing in Ireland with the second round of the BOYLE Sports Irish Greyhound Derby and final of the Bar 1 Racing Irish Sprint Cup taking centre stage.
Bouncing Monarch on top again at Shelbourne
Two rounds into the 2026 renewal of the BOYLE Sports Irish Greyhound Derby and it is the Con & Anne Kirby Memorial winner Bouncing Monarch who has set the standard each weekend. He was unquestionably a well above average type when trained in the UK by David Fradgley, but moving to Ireland and into the care of Michael O'Donovan has seen him take his form to a new level.
Dundalk saw the final of the Bar 1 Racing Irish Sprint Cup on a huge double header card with horse racing in the afternoon as part of a family fun day. It was Tiermana Dream who would come away with the €20,000 first prize. He paced up into the lead halfway down the back and with runner-up Rallying Billy checking up slightly into the opening turn, the victor stretched well clear by five and a quarter lengths.
At Curraheen Park there was an A1 final that saw Shutinthedark quickly in control of his field. It ended a seven run losing streak for him which stretched back to May, a run that day which saw him produce the third quickest time of the year to this point over 550y at this track. He has run well in between those successes and has only had 14 starts in total, so there could be more to come.
The 325y trip at Tralee looks to suit Post Robyn perfectly, producing another flying time there last week. He now has the second and fifth quickest times of 2026, with Irish Sprint Cup finalist Bomber Nina holding two of the other three. There are times of 28.44 and 28.45 on his card over 525y at this same track so he is a smart enough four-bend performer as well but sprinting looks the making of him.
Pat Buckley could have a nice type on his hands with Glengar Robin. She was runner-up in the final of a three-round sprint competition to kick off her career at Shelbourne before heading to Kilkenny and winning in each of the first three rounds of an A3 sweepstake. She will be a warm order for the final on Friday night, and out of an English Oaks finalist, she would look to have a great future after racing as well.
