Irish Performance of the Week - 24 June 2026

Desire sets Shelbourne standard again

The semis of the Corn Cuchulainn at Shelbourne on Saturday night saw Lennies Desire on top once more for Paul Hennessy. The former Towcester 500m track record holder has been outstanding since he has been stepped up in distance, and is odds-on to complete the sweep in the final this weekend. 

It is more than 20 years since the 29-second barrier was breached at Mullingar, with Supa Mac dipping under that last week. That was just eight spots off the track record time of 28.88, which had been equalled in 2004 when 29 seconds had been broken on three occasions. Supa Mac himself is just a September puppy on his fourth career start. 

Another pup took the award for Cork as Southwind Storm produced a clear career best. He had been dropped back to a sprint on his most recent outing and perhaps that the key as he took six spots off his previous best sectional which set him away and clear from his rivals. His second best time had also come straight after a sprint, so that could be worth keeping an eye on.

Jura Go Back snuck under 28 seconds at Tralee, the third dog to do that this year, though neither he nor Ballymac Deniro are remotely close to the new track record set by Ballycowen Frank which was just a ridiculous run. Jura Go Back produced this on just career start number two having finished fifth on his debut at Clonmel. It will be interesting to see what he can do next time out. 

The youngest of the week is Crafty Coolio who is a '25 whelp but got within two spots of a sub 21-second time over Dundalk's 400y trip. He clocked the quickest Galway time of the year so far on his debut over 350y back in May, producing this fourth fastest of 2026 at Dundalk on start number two. He is short on experience for an Irish Sprint Cup but he is clearly a serious talent and we all remember that last year saw Burrows Zeus (as he is now known) reach the final after making his race debut in the first round.