The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
The stage is set for annual pilgrimage to Ballintaggart
IN a mass movement akin to the migration of wildebeest on the Serengeti, locals will flock home next weekend to attend the annual Dingle Races where they will meet distant relatives, renew acquaintances and bet on horses they know nothing about.
What makes Dingle Races special is the place it holds in the hearts of local people as a highlight of their social and cultural year. If you’re from, or attached to, Dingle, chances are you’ll have some association with the races. That’s why people put a Dingle Races sticker on their D-reg cars to preserve them from the indignity of being mistaken for a tourist.
For race commentator Thomas O’Callaghan, Dingle Races is more a living entity than an event and the people who go there an extended family connected by a thread of tradition.
“As Carl O’Flaherty says ‘you could meet somebody in London or Boston and they’d say, I’ll see you at the races. It’s in our dúchas and an important link for locals who like to come home, meet up with people they haven’t seen for a while, and reminisce,” said Thomas.
Locals aside, Dingle Races is the premier event of the year for the horse and pony racing fraternity and, for them, “a win at Dingle is something that keeps them going through the winter”, according to Thomas.
“The Dingle Derby is like the Cheltenham Gold Cup. I’d regard it as the most coveted prize on the horse and pony circuit in Ireland and one that’s very difficult for a title holder to defend,” said Thomas who described the punishing track at Ballintaggart as “a real test of horses… any chinks in the armour will be exposed there”.
That said, Thomas fancies the title holder ‘Mr Bowen’, who has been showing great form around the country this year, to win next Sunday’s Derby. For the first time, this year’s derby runners will carry no weight penalty for wins on the Friday and Saturday of Dingle Races and Thomas sees this move as something that will add hugely to the competitiveness of the weekend’s racing.
Dingle Races has also proved a great training ground for up-andcoming young jockies. Denis Mullins, Barry Geraghty, Oisin Murphy from Killarney, Conor King and other who have gone on to professional careers have all cut their teeth in Ballintaggart but none have impressed as much as local lad Jack Kennedy.
“I don’t think we’ll see his likes again. He’s the most gifted horseman I’ve ever seen. He has a natural telepathy with horses and if he stays injury free he’ll be a big name for many years,” said Thomas.
Dingle Races comes about as a result of a lot of hard, and mostly unseen, work by the race committee, led by Colm Sayers who is in his first year as Chairman and taking up the role previously held by his father, Mike. This week Colm is working on preparing the track, Denis Murphy and the finance committee are gathering funding for the races, Thomas and Tom Browne are dealing with race declarations. Come the weekend they won’t be going to the races for entertainment.
“People ask if you enjoy the races but you don’t really enjoy them. You see them going on around you and you enjoy when everything goes well.”