Superstar Samcro can fit the bill for Down Royal Festival heroics
THE Down Royal Festival of Racing, which celebrates it’s 20th anniversary next month, was launched in Belfast last night with the slogan: ‘Every Revolution Needs A Hero’ — with superstar Samcro set to fill that role.
The racing and social event of the season on November 2 and 3 provides the best horse racing of the year at the Lisburn venue, while also supplying clues to Cheltenham Festival winners.
Grand National winning jockey Mick Fitzgerald — now a TV presenter — chaired the panel, comprising ITV Racing’s Alice Plunkett and jockeys Katie Walsh and Sean Flanagan, along with Down Royal general manager Mike Todd and chairman Jim Nicholson.
The entries for the Festival feature, the JNWine.com Champion Chase, include the likes of Balko Des Flos, Coneygree, Don Poli, Outlander and Shattered Love, while Flanagan — stable jockey to Navan trainer Noel Meade — advised that Road To Respect will be supplemented for the £140,000 big race, adding that, having been sidelined due to injury, he will return to race riding tomorrow.
The launch was combined with an art exhibition and the Festival will celebrate the 100 years since women gained the vote.
The success of Rachael Blackmore, who currently tops the professional jockeys’ table, was highlighted, and her feat endorsed by Walsh, who said: “She has age on her side and is doing a fantastic job.
“Rachael has the Gigginstown team supporting her.”
Walsh finished third in the Aintree Grand National this year Festival fever: (from second left) ITV Racing’s Alice Plunkett, Down Royal assistant manager Molly McCluskey, racecourse general manager Mike Todd and chairman Jim Nicholson at last night’s Down Royal Festival launch at The Orpheus
and admitted that, while she was delighted with her finish, it’s not all she wants to achieve.
“I was thrilled but it’s all about riding winners,” she contested.
“I’m lucky to have been able to ride winners at Cheltenham and Aintree.”
Flanagan said of the forthcoming Festival: “Noel (Meade) loves Down Royal, it’s a fine big track and the best horse nearly always wins. I rode my first winner at the course so it’s special to me.”
Walsh agreed, saying: “It’s not like some of the tricky country tracks and is nearly two miles around.”
Walsh was also asked about
her brother, Ruby, who is currently sidelined with a rib injury and is yet to specify a return date.
“He’s good and riding out every day,” said Katie. “He’s hoping to be back in action for the Down Royal Festival.”
Down Royal general manager Todd, who has been recognised at the Belfast Telegraph Sports Awards for his work at the likes of the Festival, has one eye on the weather but admitted he’s excited by the line-up for the feature. “If the rain doesn’t arrive, I’ll water (the track) next week and give nature a kick start!” he laughed.
Michael and Eddie O’Leary) and see what they want to do.
“The way he jumps a hurdle you’d say chasing is going to be his game down the line, but it’s not easy coming across a Champion Hurdle horse.”
Flanagan, who has sat on Samcro, said: “He’s phenomenal — I think he will go chasing.”
Meanwhile, chairman Nicholson is happy the Festival’s vision of staging championship racing has been fulfilled, with Todd adding: “We have 14 quality races over the two days and will see current and future champions.” POINTS make prizes, and Declan Boyle has collected a lot of them this season, so much so he will almost certainly spurn the chance to win tomorrow’s Donegal Harvest Rally even though it is his home round of the Irish National Championship.
Boyle has the opportunity to become just the second triple winner of the Triton Showers series, needing just a top 10 finish to take the title no matter what his closest rivals do on the Ballybofey-based rally.
On paper, Joe McGonigle, from nearby Muff, and Monaghan man Josh Moffett could still deny Boyle the championship he won in 2013 and ’14, but they would need many of the pieces of the jigsaw to fall into unexpected places.
It is in Boyle’s hands in his home county and it is unlikely there will be a repeat of the mistake he made on the Sligo round last month when he crashed his WRC Ford Fiesta with the title within sight.
Bizarrely, Moffett also crashed his Fiesta within minutes of Boyle in Sligo and probably did irreparable damage to his hopes of emulating his brother Sam as winner of all three major Irish championships in the same season.
Already winner of the Irish Tarmac and Forestry titles, Moffett can only go for another victory and hope the pressure will tell on Boyle and McGonigle.
All three are part of a huge entry for the championship finale, with another former champion, Donagh Kelly, leading the line-up in his WRC Ford Focus.
Josh Moffett and brother Sam are next on the list in their Fiestas with Boyle at No.4 ahead of McGonigle’s WRC Mini and the Fiesta of New York-based Barry McKenna.
Meanwhile, Charlie Eastwood has made the long trip to Mount Fuji in Japan for the final round of the World Endurance Championship where he will share an Aston Martin Vantage with TF Sport team-mates Salih Yoluc and Johnny Adam.