A day that had promised so much for the trainer Michael Hourigan ended in disaster at Cheltenham yesterday with the death of Dorans Pride in the Christie's Foxhunters Chase.
Hourigan had watched his Gold Cup hope, Beef Or Salmon, fall at the third fence in the Gold Cup.
But the impact of that was nothing compared to Dorans Pride's death just half an hour later.
The 14-year-old veteran, who had returned to action from retirement in the winter, fell at the second fence and broke a hind leg. He was put down about 200 yards after the fence, in front of the stands.
The trainer's daughter, Kay, who rode the horse out at home, and was wearing the horse's famous green and red colours, was distraught afterwards.
"He was a wonderful servant who gave us some great days," Hourigan said.
"One of those was when he won the Stayers Hurdle here (1995).
"I'm not a hard man and I will miss the horse.
"When we retired him the old fellah would stand at the gate watching us work. He wasn't happy. It's a great shame but if it had to happen, Cheltenham was the place," he added.
In addition to the Stayers success, Dorans Pride was also placed third in the Gold Cup in both 1997 and 1998.
Owned by London-based Tom Doran, he ran in 61 races since debuting as a four-year-old, winning 27 times and being placed on 22 more occasions.
Dorans Pride's greatest successes also included the Hennessy Gold Cup and the Ericsson Chase, both at Leopardstown, as well as the Kerry National.
He returned to the point-to-point field this winter and won twice, ridden by yesterday's jockey, Richard Harding.
Frank McNally,
at Cheltenham
The Cheltenham Festival lost some of its shine for the Irish on the third day, when Beef or Salmon went off the menu early in the Gold Cup and four-legged hero Limestone Lad suffered a rare defeat. But it's probably just as well, in a way, because if it had got any better, the excitement might have been too much for us. Proof of this was provided in the winners' enclosure after Best Mate's repeat win in the big one, when what was generally regarded as an English triumph was described as "the most exciting thing that's ever happened in Killarney".
The speaker was Don Culloty, brother of the winning jockey Jim, who, like the horse, had landed racing's greatest prize for a second year running.
The jockey's father, Donal, didn't know whether he was "elated or relieved". Mother Maureen opted for the latter. But it was a sister, Margaret, who illustrated the pressures for an Irish jockey in the Cheltenham limelight. The hype had been "almost too much to bear in the last few weeks", she said, adding with sisterly-but- firm admonishment that it had taken its toll on her brother: "He was a little shorter with the family than the press. He's very good with the press, but he wouldn't have been as patient with us."
In a tale of two jockeys, the other half of the story was Jimmy Murphy, said by trainer Michael Hourigan to be "inconsolable" after Beef or Salmon fell at the third fence. The big question had been whether the novice horse could make it up the Cheltenham hill at the end of three miles, but in the event it was not even asked.
Despite not being an Irish winner, Best Mate received a rousing reception. His owner, Jim Lewis, shed a tear in the winners' enclosure, and the horse's fans did their best to strike up a song nearby. But self-consciousness got the better of them, and the effort petered out. This sort of thing is wasted on the English.
French jockeys get nearly as bad a press in England as French diplomats. And Thierry Doumen on Baracouda gave Limestone Lad such a lead in the early stages of the Stayers' Hurdle that it looked like he might need a UN resolution to bridge the gap. But the Lad was gradually reeled in, to the disappointment of his huge Irish fan club, which had raised a cheer for the mere mention of his name in the race line-up beforehand, the sort of reaction normally reserved for star football players.
"I'll never be disappointed with him - he's run his guts out," said trainer James Bowe, who was leaving a decision about Cheltenham 2004 to the horse himself.
The defeat of Beef or Salmon provided some respite for the Irish bookmakers, but with Best Mate and Baracouda among the most heavily backed horses of the festival, the massacre of the track-side bookies continued. They were said to be "bleeding" on Wednesday and their condition didn't improve much yesterday. Needless to say, there was great sympathy for their plight among the punters.
