All roads lead to Templetuohy this weekend for annual coursing meet

All roads lead to Templetuohy this weekend, specifically to Longorchard on the Johnstown Road, just outside the village, when the greyhound aficionados of Tipperary and far beyond will converge on the local club’s well-appointed Grounds for the Annual Coursing meeting which starts this Friday the 6th of January.

The 3-day Festival of Coursing in Templetuohy is long established as one of the pre-eminent fixtures of the coursing calendar and the feature event the Premier Cup for 32 All Aged greyhounds has attracted an exceptional entry again this year.

A lot of runners in the meeting are chasing points hard for National Meeting Champions Stakes qualification and it will make for a very competitive event before the destination of the €4000 to the winner pot is finally decided on Sunday evening.

Above:Some of young and not so young hard working members of Templetuohy Coursing who were out hunting over the Christmas period in preparation for next weekends meeting.

Going through the card, the big local hope is Crescent Hope and he is owned by club working member Martin Ryan and a few friends and he won a competitive Trial Stake on his only previous outing at Borris In Ossory a month ago. His possible quarter final opponent might be the Rathkeale Cup winner Woodpark John.

In the second quarter there’s a mouth-watering 1st Round buckle between two recent winners, The Other Ollie who won in North Kilkenny and Rossmore Champ who was successful at the recent Dungarvan meeting, the winner of this early tussle should be capable of going on and reaching the last 4 from there.

Kyle Honour was a very impressive winner at the Lixnaw meeting in early December and he looks very well drawn in the 3RD Quarter and could well progress to the semifinal where a likely opponent might be the bitch Ballinabola Roxy. Overall, it’s a very competitive renewal and maybe Kyle Honour might be the one for anyone looking for a tip to divest bookmaker Teddy Browne of his hard earned!!

The Champion Bitch Stake at Templetuohy is an equally prestigious event albeit for 16 runners and carries a winner’s prize fund of €2000 and of course valuable Champion Stakes points also for the showpiece National Meeting in Clonmel in early February.

There are no less than 8 previous Stake winners from earlier in the season taking part so predicting a winner isn’t easy. Maybe Needham Vacation will make it a successful foray south for the famed Matthews family kennel in Newry.

All the top trainers in the country have respected runners in both the Trial Stakes with the Derby attracting 48 runners and the Oak qualifier having 32. Along with the Longorchard Stake for the Duffer class greyhounds and the Everard Cup for the Working Members Stake a mouthwatering weekend of Coursing action looks in prospect.

With ample hardcore area parking, a viewing Stand and excellent catering provided in the Club Pavilion by the hard-working committee the New Year conviviality of the Coursing in ‘Touhy is legendary as friends old and new enjoy a few fantastic days out together.To see the full draw for the meeting please go to https://irishcoursingclub.ie/iccdraws/thedrawlists.php

Templetuohy Coursing 2023 Order of Running
Friday, Saturday, Sunday 6th, 7th & 8th January  
Judge: Liam Kelly                 Slipper: Alan Kelly                     Start 11.30am all three days.
Friday: Twice through Derby TS. Once through Oaks TS (immediately after interval).    
Saturday: Twice through Derby TS and Premier Cup. Once through Oaks TS (before interval) and once through All Age Bitch Stake (after interval).       
Sunday: Start with Longorchard Stakes, Lisdaleen Stakes, All Age Bitch Stake, Derby TS, Oaks TS, Premier Cup and complete card.