Knegare regains winning thread to advertise Easter Cup claims

CALLAWAY KNEGARE belatedly joined the Shelbourne Park Bookmakers Easter Cup party with a brilliant opening semi-final performance over 550 yards at the Dublin track on Saturday.

Ending a losing run of eight races stretching back to a Race Of Champions heat victory at Tralee last June, the Owen McKenna-trained 2024 Juvenile Derby champion had only once been sent off bigger than his 6/1 SP and that was when third at 9/1 behind Bockos Diamond in that year's Irish Derby final.

However, he broke well from trap one and always looked to have turned plenty close enough behind Lennies Tank - so it proved as he powered through at three-quarters to assert.

At the winning line, Callaway Knegare was five and a half lengths to the good of a staying on Lemon Hidalgo in posting 29.37sec with early leader Lennies Tank holding on to the third qualifying position.

The second semi saw Daniel O'Rahilly's Droopys Faithful and McKenna's Callaway Five as 2/1 joint-favourites and both were up there early behind leader Miami Hans.

However, it was Droopys Faithful who turned in second place and she got first crack at the leader, going on at three-quarters then digging in to hold off Lemon Orla by two lengths in 29.58sec with Lennies Madge flying late to qualify in third.

Saturday's Easter Cup final draw & form

Betting for the €30,000 final (live on sisracing.tv): T1 Lemon Orla 6/1, T2 Callaway Knegare 3/1, T3 Lemon Hidalgo 14/1, T4 Droopys Faithful 9/4, T5 Lennies Madge 28/1, T6 Lennies Tank 2/1.