Shelly gets the job done

Kilhoran shelly lined up tuesday last in her novice race and ran well to win in 17.96,a run i was well chuffed with,i am sure there is lots left in the tank with her as she is a big bitch and will need time to show her best i have had a couple of offers for her but as yet she is still in the stable and until the right money is on the table she will remain here its likely i will step her up to 525 for her next outing

Mentor withdrawn

headleys mentor had to be withdrawn today from the second round of the mcalmont cup after a trip to the vet today it was confirmed he has tendon trouble and will be laid up for 3 or 4 weeks we have been pretty lucky with him since we bought him and in fact its the first time since he was purchased that he has seen a vet he was pretty bullet proof up to now hopefully it will heal up and he will be able to get back on track soon enough i will keep him walking and swimming in the mean time

Local flyer comes up just short

Local flyer (westmead hawk x local glamour) was just touched off on saturday night last in the final of the roche foods limerick oaks,cornamaddy swift took a flyer from traps and left the rest of the field in her wake but was certainly crying out for the line with both local flyer and tyrur tinkerbell cutting into her lead with every stride however the lollypop came in time for her and she held on for the win in 28.46 beating local flyer 3/4 of a length It would have been a fairly tale result for "flyer" in only her eigth race if she pulled it off but im sure she will have many other big days,the puppy oaks in shelbourne will most likely be her next target

Mentor goes again

Headleys lines up again on friday night in an open 12 dog sweep he has drawn trap 1 whitch is not ideal but if he runs straight from traps and doesnt drift wide on the run up he will have a good chance to lead around the first and go on and win i have a feeling though we wont see any 7/1 on offer!!

Good weekend for local glamour

pat sheehys brood local galmour had a good weekend with local chief having his first win in the second round of the juvenile classic in tralee winning in 28.94 for the 525 trip he has drawn a nightmare heat in next weeks semi final though
Local flyer came back in to the limerick oaks as a reserve and ran well to qualify for next week finishing 2nd to air force ellie and will be in the semi final line up next Saturday night
local harbour who i have hear in the kennel re qualified for racing last Thursday in 18.08 for the Sprint in cork and its likely he will be aimed at an unraced stake in the coming weeks

Another win for mentor

Headleys mentor got his head in front again last night in the getting out race last night in curraheen park over the 550 yard trip a trip that is probably a little to far for him,i quietly fancied him before the race although there was a couple of smart runners in it but he came away well and ran the first 2 bends beautifully to lead handy going up the back he controlled the race to win in 30.42,i was a little disappointed in the time but the temperature was dropping rapidly in cork last night it was touching -4 when i left the stadium he went off at a massive 7/1 and i didn't have a bean on i was sure he would trade at 2s or 5/2 and i didn't consider that value so never bet him!! anyways a win is a win and another 350 yoyos in the bank for the owner
I have nothing in the pipeline for him and may head for the big smoke again in the next couple of weeks

No luck in dublin

Headleys mentor got no run Saturday night in shelbourne after trapping pretty well he went to the bend but it all went wrong here all 6 dogs where in line and it was a case of close your eyes and hope for the best,it was not to be though as he got squeezed up pretty badly and took a hefty bump around the first and that practically ended his race
Disappointing but that dog racing for ya!
Its likely ill head to cork next with him for a cpl of one off races

Mentor heading for hq

Headleys mentor heads for Dublin again Saturday night lining up in the tenth race on the night in the first round heats of the tote gold cup,its a pretty tall order for him but hes gone open class and is worth his place in my opinion,i have no grand illusions about winning it mind you but would be nice to go a couple of rounds
He has drawn one of the "handier" heats and i use that term very loosely and I'm hopeful with a little luck he will be able to qualify,its a long old haul form Kerry to Dublin even though the new motorway has made it a bit easier (if not more boring) and being a late race it will be early morning before i get home but if he can get through to the next round it will be worth the effort

Good start for ardbeg tina

Ardbeg tina has had a super start to her racing career winning her first 2 races with some authority,tina is the first runner off faranatane sineads headbound litter and it bodes well for her comrades,i have her full sister here in the shape of kilhoran shelly and she is currently in training but im taking it pretty easy with her as she is very big boned and will take some time to fill her frame she will hopefully hit the track proper in april or may

Local chief flys in qualifying

Local chief flew round in his first qualifying trial last night in 29.30 525 tralee,he would of course have been well schooled to do this clock but i think hes a pretty decent dog,he was sold after his first handslip in banteer ..lets put it this way it was very very good run
29.24 was the fastest time of the night by an open dog so you would have to be happy with it
The whole litter look pretty decent with all bar one that have run winning,i have an unraced brother here for an owner but he was held up with a metatarsal problem after his first trial,he is however fine now and his work is being stepped up but i don't know yet how good (or bad) he is, but you would have to be pretty hopeful considering the rest of the litter are all pretty useful.
Bred and reared by Pat Sheehy in Lixnaw from his maiden brood local glamour it looks a proper result from her first attempt,she will be due to come in season in the next couple of months and i like the look of hallucinate for her

Oi Oi Mentor

Headleys mentor got the business done when it mattered last night winning the final of the Nora kelly retirement stakes in tralee
After badly missing his break in the semis he had to be on his best behaviour at trap rise to win this competitive affair,trap 4 bridge savings looked the one to beat but he didn't really put his best foot forward after a moderate start
Trap 3 spruce joy broke best along with reserve trap 5 loher madge and mentor was only third hitting the corner but i thought he was close enough if good enough and up the back he powered ahead to lead at the 3rd by a couple,from here on he controlled the race and ran out an easy enough winner by 2 lengths form spruce joy in 28.99
Headleys mentor is my first sweepstake winner as a private trainer and i have to say it was pretty sweet and the fact is was named after that tralee stalwart Nora Kelly made it a little extra special
Owner D.J O'Mahoney was thrilled with the win and by all accounts didn't sleep a wink last night waiting for the video to go online...lol
Its likely we will head for the tote gold cup in headquarters next with him in 2 weeks time,a big step up in class for sure but we will have a crack at it anyway and if i get a chance i may head up next weekend to give him a trial

Pups marked and ready to go

kilhoran aoifes 4 pups got their markings yesterday by the control steward cathal sullivan and are ready to move on to the next stage of their rearing,its likely they will be back west for another month or so as tom usually likes to keep them until they are 4 or 5 months before moving them on to new owners

Another final for mentor

Headleys mentor lines up again on friday night in yet another final competing in the nora kelly sweepstake,he missed the kick badly in his semi final but ran a gallant third to qualify,he will have to be a lot sharper from the blocks on friday night to win.
Bridge savings is in the only unbeaten runner in the final and its likely he will be a strong fav but its an open enough race with all dogs in with a chance,again it may be decided at traprise Gneeves dazzler has superb early pace and is taken to lead after her brilliant split last week,she is capable of better to the bend and will be a tough nut to crack if turning in front,i will have to turn very handy to her to be in with a shout and i wouldnt want bridge savings on my tail either as he showed superb pace in last weeks semi final to win going away
Mentor really deserves to win a final as this will be his fourth sweepstake final competing in in recent times with 2 seconds and a fourth its surely his turn soon!!

Zenas just pipped

Zenas romario lined up in the springbok final last night as a rank outsider at 20/1 but belied his price with a storming run,but was just touched off on the line by clonkeen theo,he ran a blinder and it was a pity he didnt hang on for the win and the 5000 first prize but he ran with credit and his connections where very proud of him,previously known as kilhoran ace i sold him after his second race to jemma davidson and he is certainly going well for jemma and looks the natural successor to plane daddy for her,i was a bit concerned that he may have been quirky when i saw him running over the sticks but after speaking to jemma she assured me hes 100 percent genuine but his owner wanted to try him over hurdles and its a gamble that nearly paid dividends.

Is the big feeze over!!

Today is the first day in weeks that you could say we are frost free,it was a pleasure to look out the window and see the green grass instead of the usual frost covered surface and hopefully it will last
Im hoping to get to work on the dogs in the kennels in the next day or so and try and get a few weeks uninterupted work into them,headleys mentor has recovered well from his recent race and his stress cough is clear,i will just give him the one gallop this week and hopefully there wont be any "bounce" factor come friday night next

Mentor blows hot on a freezing night

Headleys mentor got the job done last night in the first round of the Nora Kelly sweepstake in Tralee he had dropped down a couple of grades for his recent run.
I quietly fancied him on the night but his lack of recent work and the freezing cold night was a slight cause for concern,temperatures dipped to -4 during racing and it was a credit to the track management that they ran off the races in double quick time.
Anyhow i need not have worried as he was foot perfect on the night flashing out of trap 6 and running a real good 2 bends leading by 4 lengths or so rounding the last bend his stride was shortening but he held on readily enough to win in 29.09,the track was later rated 30 slow so an estimated run of 28.79
He will be a strip fitter for the run and the slight stress cough he has this morning will pass quickley
All in all a good nights work and a perfect start to 2011 for the kennel and we collect a few bob off the bookies to boot

Tricky race for mentor

Headleys mentor makes his seasonal debut tonight in the Nora kelly a2 sweepstake,he has drawn a tricky enough heat but I'm pretty confident of a good run from him,if he can get his trapping boots on he will be there or there abouts,he is well short of work due to the frost and snow over the past 6 weeks but the other 5 are more or less in the same boat,it would be nice to start the near year with a win but as ever qualifying is the name of the game and winning is a plus either way the tonight's work out will bring him on and blow away the cob webs

Pups are thriving

Kilhoran Aoifes pups are thriving on the west Kerry air these days;i gave a spin back yesterday to have a gander at them and they are all doing very well and getting up to mischief,the black bitch looks like the boss to me and rules the roost there is nothing between them as regards size and confirmation

i have my eye on one but its a bit early to pick just yet there going on ten weeks and will have to me marked up in the next couple of weeks by the control steward

Shelly gets the job done

kilhoran shelly got the job done in tralee this morning......just...
The track was in a quagmire and was running very slow she was beaten a length in 31.14 so she was doing an estimated 31.20 but the stewards rated the track 60 slow the general opinion was that it was a good bit slower so she has qualified nicely she gave up 6 or 7 lengths from traps to the winner so did well to close the gap to a length at the line and was in front at the pick up she weighed in aty a whopping 73lbs and will probably race very close to that
i wont be doing a lot with her but ill keep her ticking over