SALACRES PUNCH proved best of the UK challenge at Saturday’s exhilarating Michael Fortune Night Of Stars at Shelbourne Park, finishing second to home-trained Rosbirr Ranger in a red-hot sprint – one of eight €10,000-to-the-winner races on the night.

The performance delighted his handler Peter Harnden, the GBGB practitioner director representing trainers, who once again thoroughly enjoyed the Dublin experience and believes his runner was not far away from landing a famous double.

“Punch won the sprint on Irish Derby Final night, so we went across with high hopes despite knowing the quality of the opposition,” he said, “but racing at Shelbourne on these one-off nights is all about preparation and we had the experience of September.

“On Saturday he ran another great race and, but for having his ground taken by the winner, might well have won. Nevertheless our trips to Shelbourne this year with Punch have been a real highlight, not only of this year but in all our time in the sport!

“To have a winner on Irish Derby Final night is something nobody can ever take away from us and proved once again to UK runners that it’s not an impossible task, albeit is something not easily achieved. It requires meticulous planning.

“When he won on Irish Derby Final night our sole objective thereafter was to go back and attempt to achieve a memorable double by winning at the Night Of Stars – and we always felt we had the type of a greyhound to achieve that.

“Greyhounds like Punch cannot be kept primed to perfection for prolonged periods. It’s about keeping them at a level and then aiming to peak at just the right time – and we knew coming into the Night Of Stars we had Punch ready to go – we’d done all we could.

“However this kind of preparation is a huge undertaking particularly for UK-based runners when you have the travelling involved too. We didn’t quite achieve the dream but have no complaints and no regrets and we certainly went close.

“What some people might not realise is that Punch has been with us from three months old, so he wasn’t a ready made dog coming in for big money, and so the sense of pride you feel seeing a dog you’ve reared from a baby is indescribable.

“All that said, winning any race is Ireland is not easy. It’s about having a plan and carrying that out – because if you don’t you’re destined to fail before you even enter the traps – although being part of such an incredible occasion means as much also!”

It was that sense of occasion that attracted connections of Lambeth Way, the Ernie Gaskin-trained sprinter unbeaten in the UK after seven races, but returning back across the Irish Sea for a special one-off night. He finished sixth in the sprint.

His trainer Gaskin, at Monmore where he collected the Trafalgar Cup title with Droopys Addition, admitted it was very much about supporting the night and taking part which attracted owners Kevin Dear, Paul Carpenter and Nick Cheeseman.

“The lads are great owners, love their racing and love the big occasions – and so they should. Lambeth Way is a top sprinter who deserved his chance and you never know, but ideally you’d be planning a trip like this for a while.

“We’ve had the National Sprint on the agenda, plus been planning his UK career and he’s done nothing wrong. It was always going to be a tough ask, but he’s back here now and we’ll be getting him ready for Nottingham now.”

Part-owner Paul Carpenter was at Shelbourne Park on Saturday and, while the race itself did not go to plan for Lambeth Way, came away from the track full of admiration and praise for the work that went in to staging the Night Of Stars.

“I’d say Saturday was one of the best nights racing I’ve ever witnessed. The atmosphere was electric, the stadium was packed and the racing was outstanding. It had the ‘wow’ factor and was everything that is best about greyhound racing as a sport.

“Every race was top to bottom full of greyhound royalty and it was a real pleasure to be involved. There’s something truly magical about matching the best against each other. It gets people excited – and right from the start it felt special.

“And the track must be congratulated here. Right from the moment we arrived you were made to feel valued, welcome and part of something unique, greyhound racing at its very best and something the sport can be extremely proud of.

“They’ve been staging the Night Of Stars for eight years and it’s been a great success – and is certainly something the UK should look at doing. How great would it be to have two Night Of Stars each year – with runners from the UK and Ireland against each other.

“Well done to all concerned, particularly the family of the late Michael Fortune, especially Michael’s son Ian for all his hard work, plus Shelbourne Park, the IGB, and all the sponsors and organisers for putting on the meeting. You did an awesome job.”