Rachael goes wild for Honey
Blackmore romps home on unbeaten wonder horse
IT was a Ladies Day to remember for racing star Rachael Blackmore as she and Honeysuckle stole the show at Punchestown yesterday.
Crowds went wild at the Co Kildare track as Henry de Bromhead’s unbackable 1-5 priced starlet mare romped home in the Paddy Power Champion Hurdle to stretch her unbeaten record to sweet 16.
Lapping up the acclaim at the Co Kildare course, Rachael said: “I know what she’s capable of.
“It took me a few strides to get her going turning in but I was never that worried. I know the engine she has.
“She is incredibly talented. I am so lucky to be on her back and Henry is so lucky to train her. We are all so lucky to be a part of what she is.
“As a jockey you dream of getting on a good horse – you can’t achieve things on the big days without that. But she takes that to a whole other level. She blows good horses out of the water. She is phenomenal.”
It was also a day to celebrate for Robbie Power, who signed off on his impressive career on Teahupoo in the same race.
He announced his retirement after riding Magic Daze to victory in Thursday evening’s Handicap Chase.
Affectionately known as Puppy, Robbie said: “It has been a fantastic career and I have enjoyed it every step of the way.
PRIVILEGED
“I haven’t received a reception like that since Sizing John won here. It was unbelievable and I feel privileged.”
Elsewhere, a mum of two freshened up the style stakes to win Bollinger’s Best Dressed Lady.
Deirdre Kane, whose mint ensemble came out on top, has form in this race and previously won the title at the Dublin Horse Show in 2018.
She told the Irish Mirror: “It was made by my friend Leanne O’shea and she is directing a show in the Abbey at the moment.
“She is a nutcase because she said two weeks ago that she’d make it for me.
“So I didn’t see her, she hung it on the door of her house last night and I picked it up.
“She has made stuff before for me and I was hoping it would fit and thankfully I brought it home and it did. Julie Kenny in Castledermot made the hat. We had the fabric so the hat was made before the outfit.”
Deirdre, from Carlow, said she was hoping her little girls would be looking on with pride as they watched her take the top prize of a VIP trip for two people to the exclusive Bollinger Estate in France.
She added: “I have two kids Daisy and Milly, 10 and 7, so I’m hoping they got to see.”
In awarding her the top prize, the TOP TRAINER Comic Deirdre O’kane judges said: “There was something head to toe about Deirdre. It was effortless style.
“When we walked in and we saw Deirdre she looked like an absolute winner, she held it well, the colour was amazing on her. She really thought about the whole outfit from top to bottom.”
Also enjoying a day at the races was comedian and TV presenter Deirdre O’kane.
The funnywoman, known for wearing running shoes at her gigs, teamed up with bookmaker Paddypower to tackle “discrimination against trainers” at meetings.
The mischievous Irish firm made the tongue-in-cheek move after two well-dressed female racegoers were refused entry to an enclosure at Sandown last weekend for wearing white trainers.
So, as the main sponsors of the Punchestown Festival, the bookie took a stand for casually-dressed punters to “remind fans that they, and their trainers, are welcomed at Irish racecourses and were celebrated as they arrived to enjoy the action at the Kildare track today”.
Joining the cause, wearing a bespoke custom-made hat created by Marinot Millinery, Deirdre told the Irish Mirror: “It’s nice that everybody is back and out and it’s a bit of craic. I love a bit of Paddy Power marketing because I know they are funny. You’re in safe hands.”
The comic, who is currently on her nationwide tour Demented, which arrived in Wexford last night, added:
Three years since crowds were at Punchestown Festival because of Covid-19
16 races and 16 wins – Honeysuckle’s very impressive statistics
“I’ll be on stage tonight in runners, they are my thing, but because I’m in the runners so much I like wearing heels sometimes.
“I definitely wore heels more but I wasn’t on stage as much, I was mad for the heels. I had a fabulous collection of shoes but they get less and less and now I’ve a fabulous collection of runners.
“There are some female comics that do the full thing in heels, an hour-and-a-half. Fair play to them. I move a lot, it wouldn’t go with my gin and tonic.” But Deirdre said she’s loving the return of work and live events more than she ever could have anticipated, admitting she’s felt emotional since getting back on the stage after the pandemic.
She added: “I missed it more than I could have ever believed I missed.
“I can’t explain what it was like to go out in front of a crowd, I was emotional. The relief was palpable. Audiences are so giving. They know it’s been rough so they give more.”