Tullymurry Shines at Star Pelaw for Blackbird
There were five open races at Star Pelaw on Tuesday night with Dean Blackbird taking the plaudits on the night with a pair of winners.
Pelaw double for Blackbird on Tuesday night
Star Pelaw beat the cold as the sole track to run opens on Tuesday. Dean Blackbird's kennel will have been pleased with that news after picking up a double at the track started by Tullymurry Shine. She won back-to-back starts at the track in early November and this will have been a confidence boosting success for her in a sprint where her main rival was her kennelmate who is better suited to further.
Blackbird's double came from Thats It Jack in the final race of the evening. The 575y track record holder at Limerick made the third round of the Derby for the kennel last summer and already has a win over six bends at Star Pelaw. He got on top late on over 435m last night but a return to further is going to see him in a better light than a shorter four.
Colin Dibb picked up three open race wins in 2023, 2024 and 2025 but is off the mark this year within the first week. Crafty San Siro made it up as high as A4 at Romford when with Marlene Westwood but he is better suited to sprints, coming away better than his rivals last night and running out a four and three-quarter length winner.
The other sprint on the card went to Allaghaun Honey for Matthew Watson. It was a four runner affair with odds of 10/11, 1/1, 18/1 and 22/1 but it did not prove quite as straightforward on the sand as it had looked on paper with October 20 whelp Catunda Nelson splitting the two shorties at the line after leading up for Gary Ralton.
The first open on the night was won by Mall Could Do for Ken Kennedy. He tends to do his winning in bunches, taking three of his last four starts now, also the winner of three straight in July and August. This was his first open race success after A5 and A4 victories.
