A St. Patrick’s race m
Braving the restrictions and the elements on a surreal afternoon at the races
THE ST. Patrick’s Day meeting at Bettyville racecourse in Wexford last week was a unique and rather sombre occasion – it was closed to the general public, there were were no bookies, no Tote betting and no catering facilities, and no presentations or victory celebrations.
There was a distinct lack of atmosphere in the unusual circumstances and it did not help that it was quite a grim, windy and bitterly cold day, with damp mist hindering viewing on the far side of the track towards the end.
In all fairness, the main business of the meeting, the seven races that made up one of the most valuable and attractive cards of the season, went off very smoothly and efficiently, and all involved can take a bow.
Weekend meetings at Dundalk, Navan and Limerick had gone off well and any wrinkles had been ironed out.
There were stringent protocols in place limiting the attendance to those directly involved in the racing itself, and those providing medical, safety and security cover for the occasion. Just one groom per horse was allowed, and also one person representing owners and syndicates.
There was certainly no problem observing the distance protocols, with stands almost totally empty but for a few anxious owners keeping track of their runners in the absence of the usual big screen, and a sparsely populated parade ring leaving plenty of space for everybody.
It was strange to see the betting ring being used as a car park; jockeys were asked to vacate the weighroom between rides to avoid ‘congregating’, and they were able to take some shelter in their cars.
In fact, parking was no problem on the day, and no cars were on the Newtown Road which is usually lined on both sides.
It was all in marked contrast to the normal St. Patrick’s Day meeting, where people are usually attracted to the course after attending the traditional parades, and colourful bouncy castles and other attractions are laid on for the children.
Tuesday’s weather would probably have de
terred most of those casual racing supporters anyway, even in normal circumstances.
Those committed to be there because of their close involvement with racing are a hardy bunch and managed to cope quite well with the elements.
A lot came prepared with sandwiches and flasks, and there was a nice feeling of camaraderie, with those less far-sighted being asked to share in the tea and coffee, teabags, biscuits, etc.
The prize fund at Wexford was one of the biggest of the season with a €40,000 and a €25,000 race included on a card worth more than €132,000 in total.
Of course, Wexford did have competition with a second meeting at Down Royal and a number of local riders were working up there, including Seán Flanagan, J.J. Slevin and Barry O’Neill.
Trainer Paul Nolan scooped the main prize of the day in the Arctic Tack Veterans’ Chase, with the considerable assistance of young Taghmon rider, Seaá O’Keeffe, in the saddle; they also combined for two seconds.
Jonathan Moore from Adamstown was another local winner for his big ally this season, trainer Gavin Cromwell (see full report below).
Barry O’Neill kept the Wexford flag flying up north when he joined with regular point-to-point partner, David Christie, to win the Hunter Chase comfortably on favourite, Winged Leader, and he got second in the mares’ bumper.
All of these were involved in the Cheltenham Festival the previous week, and the contrast between the noise and clamour of the most high-profile meeting of the year and the much more low-key proceedings at Wexford and Down Royal could not have been more stark.
I think it’s fair to say that most trainers, riders and those earning their living from the racing industry were in favour of keeping racing going if at all possible, whatever the restrictions and extra hardship involved, provided it was approved as safe to do so.
However, there was a pervading air of pessimism. This grew after news came through that the British authorities, which had suffered much criticism over allowing Cheltenham, and even Uttoxeter and others on Saturday, to proceed full throttle, had gone into reverse.
Now they were closing the jumps season early and banning racing completely until May, including point-to-point.
A meeting of all involved in Irish racing was to be held by tele-conference on Wednesday and the expectation of most was that the 5.35 p.m. race in Wexford that evening would probably be the last action of the Irish season; the Irish Grand National would be gone and Punchestown was hanging by a thread.
However, the decision when it came was to persist with racing behind closed doors. That was the position as I write on Thursday, but who knows what it will be as you read this on Tuesday?
A few days is a long time in this fast-moving, unfolding Covid-19 drama which is escalating daily.
The latest up to date details will be carried elsewhere in this issue.