| 2013 Enterprise Target Solutions Irish Greyhound Derby | |
| Date Start: | 8 August |
| Date End: | 14 September |
| Prize Money: | €120,000 (winner) |
| Venue: | Shelbourne Park |
| Location: | Dublin |
| Prev: | 2012 |
| Next: | 2014 |
The 2013 Irish Greyhound Derby took place during August and September with the final being held at Shelbourne Park in Dublin on 14 September 2013.[1]
The winner Slippery Robert won €120,000 and was trained by Robert Gleeson, owned and bred by Larry Dunne. The race was sponsored by the UK-based independent finance company Enterprise Target Solutions (ETS).[2]
At Shelbourne, 14 September (over 550 yards):
| width=30 | Position | width=180 | Winner | width=300 | Breeding | width=30 | Trap | width=50 | Sectional | width=50 | SP | width=80 | Time | width=200 | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Slippery Robert | Hondo Black - Steamy Windows | 6 | 3.46 | 5-1 | 29.49 | Robert Gleeson | ||||||||
| 2nd | Cabra Buck | Big Daddy Cool - Cabra Belle | 5 | 3.34 | 5-2 | 29.63 | Graham Holland | ||||||||
| 3rd | Tyrur Sugar Ray | Top Honcho - Maireads Fantasy | 2 | 3.46 | 6-4f | 29.77 | Conor Fahy | ||||||||
| 4th | Carrowgarriff | Westmead Hawk - Wicked Marita | 3 | 3.39 | 25-1 | 30.08 | Ollie Curtin | ||||||||
| 5th | Ballymac Vic | Kinloch Brae - Ballymac Vicky | 1 | 3.45 | 3-1 | 30.12 | Liam Dowling | ||||||||
| N/R | Kereight King | Droopys Maldini - Quam Celerrime | 4 | Pat Curtin (Ireland) |
1¾, 1¾, 3¾, ½ (lengths)
Defending champion Skywalker Puma, Ballymac Vic, Droopys Jet and recent Champions Stakes winner Paradise Madison were the leading contenders for the 2013 Irish Derby. The English threat came in the form of Holdem Spy. A mandatory first round acted as a trial because only 16 from 120 would be eliminated which was lucky for Ballymac Vic who could only finish fifth but still qualified.[3]
In round two only Paradise Madison, Kereight King and Tyrur Sugar Ray remained unbeaten. Skywalker Puma who had impressed in the first round finished badly lame and was withdrawn. Kereight King posted the best third round time and became the new favourite but all the major names also progressed. The event was set for very competitive quarter finals but suffered a double blow before they started. The English hope Holdem Spy had suffered a hock injury when winning previously and Ballymac Vic gashed his foot at his home kennels.[3]
The first three quarter finals were won by Cabra Buck, Hawaii Kinsale and Isabels Boy win the first three heats, Droopys Jet was eliminated but Ballymac Vic qualified but ran under par with his patched up foot. The fourth heat contained Kereight King, Paradise Madison, Ringtown Snowy and Tyrur Sugar Ray and it was Kereight King confirming his favourite tag who won the race. Tyrur Sugar Ray ran well again to finish second but Paradise Madison and Ringtown Snowy failed to progress. Pat Curtin's Kereight King was now clear favourite.[3]
The semi-final were as expected, Tyrur Sugar Ray won the weaker heat from Slippery Robert and Carrowgarriff and Cabra Buck continued his good run defeating Kereight King and Ballymac Vic. After the draw for the final it was revealed that Kereight King had broken a toe and Ballymac Vic had split his foot again. It meant a five dog final and Ballymac Vic would not be at his best.[3]
If the unnecessary first round had been cancelled it would have been likely that both Kereight King and Ballymac Vic could have competed in the final at their best. The five runner race saw Slippery Robert gain victory after taking the lead at the third bend from Cabra Buck. The under par Ballymac Vic held up the gambled Tyrur Sugar Ray at the first bend ending his chances.[3]
| Heat 1 (Aug 31) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=20 | Pos | width=150 | Name | width=40 | SP | width=40 | Time |
| 1st | Cabra Buck | 5-1 | 29.99 | ||||
| 2nd | Droopys Adler | 7-1 | 30.04 | ||||
| 3rd | Ballymac Vic | 6-4f | 30.18 | ||||
| 4th | Ballyana Foxtrot | 5-1 | 30.36 | ||||
| 5th | Hot Pursuit | 11-4 | 30.37 | ||||
| 6th | Fairhill Paddy | 12-1 | 30.58 | ||||
| Heat 2 (Aug 31) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=20 | Pos | width=150 | Name | width=40 | SP | width=40 | Time |
| 1st | Hawaii Kinsale | 5-4f | 30.08 | ||||
| 2nd | Slippery Sooty | 7-4 | 30.18 | ||||
| 3rd | Carrowgarriff | 14-1 | 30.29 | ||||
| 4th | El Flutter | 4-1 | 30.43 | ||||
| 5th | Fridays Carroll | 8-1 | 30.95 | ||||
| N/R | Holdem Spy | ||||||
| Heat 3 (Aug 31) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=20 | Pos | width=150 | Name | width=40 | SP | width=40 | Time |
| 1st | Isabels Boy | 4-1 | 30.33 | ||||
| 2nd | Melodys Diamond | 4-1 | 30.35 | ||||
| 3rd | Borna Gem | 4-1 | 30.40 | ||||
| 4th | Droopys Jet | 2-1f | 30.58 | ||||
| 5th | Holycross Gerry | 6-1 | 30.63 | ||||
| 6th | Nothing Simple | 10-1 | 30.80 | ||||
| Heat 4 (Aug 31) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=20 | Pos | width=150 | Name | width=40 | SP | width=40 | Time |
| 1st | Kereight King | 7-4f | 29.87 | ||||
| 2nd | Tyrur Sugar Ray | 3-1 | 30.01 | ||||
| 3rd | Slippery Robert | 6-1 | 30.02 | ||||
| 4th | Glenanore Dancer | 12-1 | 30.19 | ||||
| 5th | Paradise Madison | 4-1 | 30.44 | ||||
| 6th | Ringtown Snowy | 12-1 | 30.51 | ||||
| First Semi Final (Sep 7) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=30 | Pos | width=180 | Name of Greyhound | width=50 | SP | width=50 | Time |
| 1st | Tyrur Sugar Ray | 5-2jf | 29.87 | ||||
| 2nd | Slippery Robert | 5-2jf | 30.08 | ||||
| 3rd | Carrowgarriff | 33-1 | 30.18 | ||||
| 4th | Hawaii Kinsale | 7-1 | 30.22 | ||||
| 5th | Droopys Adler | 6-1 | 30.29 | ||||
| 6th | Isabals Boy | 7-2 | 30.46 | ||||
| Second Semi Final (Sep 7) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=30 | Pos | width=180 | Name of Greyhound | width=50 | SP | width=50 | Time |
| 1st | Cabra Buck | 5-1 | 29.65 | ||||
| 2nd | Ballymac Vic | 2-1 | 29.72 | ||||
| 3rd | Kereight King | 7-4f | 30.00 | ||||
| 4th | Borna Gem | 5-1 | 30.21 | ||||
| 5th | Melodys Diamond | 8-1 | 30.24 | ||||
| 6th | Slippery Sooty | 16-1 | 30.73 | ||||