KERRY MARKS ITS PRIDE IN JOCKEY BRYAN COOPER[
IT is twelve years since Tom Cooper received a civic reception after Total Enjoyment romped to victory at the 2004 Cheltenham Festival; on Thursday last it was his son Bryan’s turn to receive the special accolade in honour of his famous win aboard Don Cossack in the Gold Cup.
This was a family affair for the Cooper clan as the council chamber resembled Bryan’s very own winner’s enclosure and the pride on the faces of mom and dad - Geraldine and Tom - along with his sister, Sarah, was clear to see.
All in all, everything felt right about the reception: a beautiful summer’s evening, surrounded by family and friends - all far from the madding crowds of Cheltenham, Leopardstown and Punchestown.
“I’d like to thank the Council for this great honour. Winning the Gold Cup for me is a lifetime dream. Some say they’d love to win the Grand National, but I’d pick the Gold Cup over it any day,” Bryan said on Thursday.
And he’ll never forget that homecoming: “What made my homecoming special was Tom Quane organised a pony and trap to bring me over Blennerville bridge.
“I also saw the videos from Quane’s and The Castle Bar when I won the Gold Cup and I think they had better celebrations than I did!
“If I have a few bad days racing, I can look back and think that I’ve won a Gold Cup and if I never again won anything, I can say that I’ve achieved that. So we’ll go back next year and if Don Cossack gets there, hopefully we’ll be celebrating again,” Bryan added.
The seeds of strength and character required to win a Gold Cup were sown during those difficult weeks of rehab in the aftermath of his horrible injury in 2014 and his achievements continue to belie his young years.
It’s also worth giving a ‘shout out’ at this point to the other Don in Bryan’s life. For it was Don Poli who gave Bryan his first major comeback win at Cheltenham in 2015 and also one of his biggest dilemmas as few people could have envied the 23-year-old in having to choose between the ‘ two Dons’ just days before the Gold Cup.
Thankfully, Bryan sided with the right Don which is more than can be said for Mayor of Tralee, Terry O’Brien.
“I have to put it on the record here tonight that I backed Don Poli, so you can count yourself lucky we’re not giving this reception to Davy Russell!” Terry said.
“We’re all very proud of Bryan and just to give you an idea of how rare and difficult it is to win the Gold Cup: over the last 30 years, 26 different jockeys have won this Holy Grail. It’s a fantastic achievement.”
Mayor of Kerry, Cllr Michael O’Shea, also spoke of Bryan’s incredible achievement.
“To have achieved what Bryan has in his 24 years is enormous…you are a deserving recipient of this honour from the Council here this evening.
“The win brought great joy to Tralee and the entire racing community around Kerry and indeed Ireland,” he said, voicing the pride of an entire county.