It has been a long three years since the Leopardstown Racecourse last opened to the public on St Stephen’s Day. The redeveloped course with a new weigh room and parade ring was all set last year having been closed to the public in 2020, but the organisers pulled the plug on Christmas Eve because of rising Covid-19 numbers.
It was not an Omicron wave but a tsunami which left racecourse management with no choice but to cancel this fixture of the festive calendar in 2021. There were 11,182 cases of Covid-19 on Christmas Eve last year and a further 13,765 on Christmas Day.
What a difference a year makes. Some 15,797 punters attended the first day of the four-day festival, which started on Monday.
After heavy rain on Christmas Day, St Stephen’s Day was dry with a stiff wind that made it feel colder than the 5 degrees that was forecast. Many racegoers came dressed for a Christmas party, not an outdoor racing festival in December. Many were shivering in the grandstands and made for the warmth of the bars on site.
Bernie Byrne from Kilcock, Co Kildare, came with her son Ciaran, who is home from Berlin for Christmas with his girlfriend Mira Varg (29) from Slovakia who was attending her first Irish race meeting.
Ms Byrne said there was no place she would rather be on St Stephen’s Day than at Leopardstown. “The weather has been marvellous after yesterday. My husband, Lord rest him, was a great racegoer. He always said St Stephen’s Day was not about the racing, it was about the kids showing off their Christmas clothes.”
Leopardstown Racecourse chief executive Tim Husbands was pleased with the first day of the festival. “The feedback and the number of people who are here outstripped our expectations,” he said, while hopeful the crowds this week will surpass the 57,000 who came before Covid-19 in 2019.
“You never know. There is a sense of the unknown at the moment. You see other industries doing well, you see other parts of our industry not doing so well. There is a desire now for live sport. People want an experience,” he said.
An experience is certainly what the Jolly Boys syndicate got at Leopardstown. The six owners of Tullypole Annie were as surprised as everyone else when the unfancied chestnut filly won the Grade 2 Dornan Group Novice Handicap Hurdle at 33/1.
“We never dreamed of this and we have been coming here since we were knee-high,” said syndicate spokesman James Picking. The syndicate compounded their good fortune by having a flutter on their horse when the smart money was all going elsewhere. They celebrated with champagne in the owners’ bar afterwards.
Proud mother Geraldine Benson was emotional for the winning jockey Georgie Benson. “She has worked so hard for this,” said Geraldine. “It is such hard work for her especially yesterday not eating and all that. I’m just so happy for her.”
Davy Russell knows all about Christmas privations. He has forgone them for more Christmases than he cares to remember. He finished his career with a win on December 18th at Thurles and returned to Leopardstown on Monday to accept a presentation from Mr Husbands on behalf of Leopardstown management and to receive a guard of honour from his fellow jockeys.
The two-times Grand National winner on the incomparable Tiger Roll and also Gold Cup winner has retired at the age of 43 following a very serious fall in 2020 in which he injured his back and neck. He could have carried on, but felt no qualms about quitting while he was ahead.
“Being injured gave me a good introduction to not worrying about racing the next day. I used to enjoy fasting and having the opportunity to ride. When everybody is off, we are on. It is party time for people here and we need to be on the money so it is different for us.”
