A major twist has rocked the BAR 1 Betting Irish Sprint Cup ahead of Saturday’s semi-finals at Dundalk Stadium, with outright favourite Crafty Coolio ruled out through injury.
The son of Dorotas Wildcat looked every inch the dog to beat after landing his third-round heat in impressive fashion last weekend, but his bid for Sprint Cup glory has been cruelly cut short, leaving the competition wide open.
With Crafty Coolio sidelined, Montanta Secret has been promoted to 5/2 joint-favourite after chasing him home in heat three on Saturday. Sharing favouritism is Tiermana Dream, who suffered his first defeat of this year’s Sprint Cup when finishing second to Velvet Samba at the weekend. Despite that setback, Tiermana Dream had already underlined his class by breaking the 21-second barrier in each of his previous two victories earlier in the competition.
Bomber Nina also threw her hat firmly into the ring with a blistering display on quarter-final night, stopping the clock in a sparkling 20.92. The Jack Kennelly-trained bitch has emerged as one of the leading contenders and is now a 3/1 chance to claim Sprint Cup honours.
The final quarter-final of the evening saw The Other Wild continue his flawless campaign, powering home in 21.05. Looking Splendid filled the runner-up spot behind the son of Ballymac Wild, who remains unbeaten heading into the last four.
With the favourite gone, the race for the 2026 BAR 1 Betting Irish Sprint Cup has been blown wide open. The draw for Saturday’s semi-finals took place after the round three heats and can be viewed below.
The final of the 2026 BAR 1 Betting Irish Sprint Cup will take place on Saturday, August 15 at Dundalk Stadium. Ticket details.
