Among the scheduled race-week entertainments in Galway is an event called My Lovely Horse, hosted by Monroe’s pub on Dominick Street.
Inspired by Father Ted, and “celebrating all things Eurovision with the world’s best Eurovision song plus many other bangers”, it will get under way on Friday night.
But the celebrations began 48 hours early when an actual horse, part-owned by a syndicate based at the pub, won the Tote Handicap Hurdle on Galway Plate Day.
Trained in Kildare by Ross O’Sullivan, Talk in the Park had been a winner only once in its previous nine outings, albeit last time out, at Downpatrick in June.
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But it proved to be a very lovely horse for its owners by following that one up with a €10,000 first prize at the meeting that mattered most to them.
As one of the group announced in the winners’ enclosure afterwards, to no surprise: “Party in Monroe’s tonight!”
After the sunshine of Tuesday, the big fashion colour on day three of the festival was blue. Typically, however, the skies over Galway did not follow the trend they had set, reverting instead to an ominous grey.
Perhaps influenced by the weather, a grey horse – My Great Mate – was backed into hot favouritism in the opening race.
Unfortunately, it could do no better than third, behind the Gordon Elliott-trained winner Lightkeeper, owned by another pub-based syndicate: The Bar-Stool Prophets from Shaw’s in Summerhill, Co Meath.
The horse’s winning price, 11-1, suggested not many racegoers had prophesied its victory. But the syndicate had backed it, of course, and at an even more generous 12-1.
Then again, as Bar Stool Prophets go, they are unusually well informed. One of them was Pat Elliott, father of Gordon, whose membership of the group stretches back to the prolific trainer’s first Irish winner, Toran Road, in 2007.
Among less connected punters celebrating the win, meanwhile, was Rachel Phelan, from Waterford, who punched the air politely in front of the grandstand as the horse passed the post in front.
Mind you, she too knew her horses. She used to work for trainer Henry de Bromhead, “riding out” such stable stars as Let’s Go Champ (which would be competing in the big one later).
On the other hand, Phelan admitted a little shamefacedly that she had bet a fiver each-way on Lightkeeper because “I just liked the name”.
Names can be as good a reason as any at Galway. Among those who have been in attendance since Monday, for example, is Aileen Horkan, a schoolteacher from Ballina and one of a group of people in north Mayo who do regular re-enactments of the Year of the French.
For this reason alone on opening night, she backed a horse called Napper Tandy each-way. And although an apparent no-hoper, priced at 25-1 in a field of only eight, the four-legged Napper did better than the two-legged one had in 1798, finishing third.
Alas, like almost everyone else at Galway on day three, Horkan hadn’t planned for the rain that started falling just after the first race. “Oh no – it’s a disaster,” she said, fleeing for cover.
“We didn’t see that coming,” admitted one of many people huddling under the shelter of the podium in the nearby winners’ parade ring. Even the Bar Stool Prophets were taken by surprise.
The predominance of a certain colour in Wednesday’s fashions suggested that a memo had gone out somewhere. But among the 40 shades of blue – thanks to a jacket in the royal shade of same – on display, Mary Murphy from Tallow in Co Waterford denied any prior knowledge of the trend.
“I’d say it’s just what’s in the shops,” she said modestly, adding that her jacket came from Dunnes.
Speaking of shops, Bernie Turley – wife of Galway department store owner (and racing festival chairman) Anthony Ryan – was elegantly attired both a la mode and for the weather.
Her outfit included a white dress with blue polka dots, blue shoes and a blue feathered headdress. And proving that at least one person had foreseen the conditions, the ensemble was also perfectly accessorised with a dainty but functional blue umbrella.
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