Hurling hero honoured at races
A SEVEN-RACE jumping card will take place at the Bettyville Wexford racecourse on Friday evening with almost €80,000 up for grabs. The first is off at ten to six and punters can enjoy three hurdles, three chases and the traditional closing ‘bumper’ before 9 p.m.
There will be bouncy castles laid on for the children, and some of the musicians from the Phil Murphy Festival Weekend will come in from Bannow to entertain the patrons.
The weather gods have not been that kind for recent meetings and all concerned will be hoping that they will be in benevolent mood this time.
The new track lay-out has lent itself to some excellent racing since the change-over to an anti-clockwise circuit, with the two-furlong uphill finishing straight in front of the stands lending itself to lots of excitement.
Racing begins on Friday evening with the Nick O’Donnell Memorial maiden hurdle over two miles. The race honours one of Wexford’s greatest hurlers, the prince of full-backs, who captained the county to two All-Ireland wins in the 1950s and ’60s.
This is followed by the info@wexfordraces.ie mares’ maiden hurdle over two and half miles, and a similar event sponsored by Oceanfeed Equine.
The feature of the evening is the Vinegar Hill chase over two miles, with €14,500 in the pot. The other two chases are the Blackstairs Beginners over just over three miles, and the Carrickbyrne Handicap over two miles four furlongs. The Campile bumper over two miles two furlongs completes the action.
It often pays to follow the Wexford form in the days following a Bettyville meeting and this was illustrated in the past week again. Red Giant was a heavily backed winner the last evening at Wexford under Seán Flanagan for Noel Meade, and he followed up five nights later in a three-mile hurdle at Kilbeggan, this time under Adamstown’s Jonathan Moore.
That evening also Davy Russell came to Wexford for a single ride, on Queen Alphabet in a two-mile beginners’ chase for Peter Fahey, and she was a well-backed but disappointing fourth.
Six nights later the plot became apparent when the mare was turned out in the featured €25,000 fillies’ handicap on the flat at Ballinrobe and dotted up at 3/1 favourite, with the benefit of the Wexford pipe-opener.
It was a quiet week for the Wexford connections on the Irish tracks, though the flag was kept flying as usual by Aidan O’Brien and Jim Bolger at the big Curragh meeting. Between them they took five of the eight races on Sunday’s card, O’Brien recording a four-timer.
Racing this week in addition to Wexford takes place at Sligo (Tuesday), Fairyhouse on the flat (Wednesday), the annual Bellewstown festival on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and Limerick and Naas on Sunday (July 3).