HE first occasion that the Cheltenham Gold Cup had been staged on St Patrick’s Day was in 1945 when the one-day meeting was held on Saturday, March 17th. The first Gold Cup since National Hunt racing had been suspended during World War II in 1942 attracted a record field of 16. It was won by Red Rower, ridden by dual-purpose D.L. ‘Davy’ Jones, putting up 3st deadweight.

The next time the Gold Cup was run on St Patrick’s Day was in 1966. The incomparable Arkle was long, long odds-on to emulate Cottage Rake’s three-in-a-row, from 1948-1950. Faced by just four vastly inferior opponents, at level weights, Arkle was a moral certainty. It was bar-a-fall and Arkle had never fallen, in public anyway. John Welcome recounted events in his book, Cheltenham Gold Cup: “The Cheltenham Gold Cup was considered to be a mere walkover for Arkle, and this was how it turned out to be. It was not, however, an uneventful race, and Arkle provided his own sensation. Now in the fullness of his great strength and stride, his jumping was of a speed and power which matched or surpassed Mill House at his best.

“None of the other four horses in the race could, of course, live with him. He came to the 11th fence, the last on the first circuit, moving with ease and grace; the race, even at that stage, handsomely won.

“Perhaps it all seemed to him too easy. In any event, for whatever reason, he just did not look at the fence. Instead he concentrated his attention on the packed stands, many of whose occupants were already beginning to cheer their champion.

“As a result, he took the fence by the roots and went straight through it. Scarcely believable though it may be, the mistake, which must have floored any ordinary horse, did not even check him in his stride, nor did Taaffe move in the saddle.

“Without hesitation or pause they galloped remorselessly on, increasing their lead as they went. The final verdict was a 30-lengths win from Dormant. The race was run on St Patrick’s Day. Arkle had a bunch of shamrock on his browband, and it was this, and St Patrick having backed him, it was said in the stable, that saved him from the consequences of his mistake.”

Racing in Ireland that St Patrick’s Day took place at Baldoyle, one of the few places in Ireland where one could get a drink on our national saint’s day back then.

GASP OF HORROR

Another was the old Greenpark course on the outskirts of Limerick, where the heavy going put paid to Hemoglobin’s chances in the Munster Handicap. Instead, we all crowded into the Owners and Trainers’ bar to watch Arkle strut his stuff. The memory of that collective gasp of shock, horror and then relief over his near-disaster remains indelible. St Patrick’s breastplate indeed.

Eleven years elapsed before the Cheltenham Gold Cup coincided with St Patrick’s Day again in 1977. Getting to Prestbury Park was an ordeal in itself. An Aer Lingus strike left pilgrims with one option: the boat. But the prospect of Sand Pit making it three-in-a-row in the Sun Alliance Chase on the opening day made it all worth the while.

As I legged up Big Ron Barry in a torrential downpour, he preempted me by wishing me good luck. It’s generally the other way around. The form book remains succinct. “Hdwy 15th, 2nd and every chance when f last.” Ah well, we’d get it all back when Tied Cottage won the Gold Cup two days later. Tommy Carberry wouldn’t hear of defeat. “Bannow Rambler? Don’t mind him.”

Window-shopping before racing on the Thursday, who should we encounter but Dessie and Eileen Hughes on a similar excursion. “Tommy says he’ll win.” “Is that so? Well, wherever Tommy finishes, I’ll be in front of him!”

Only one thing for it, have a few quid each-way on both Tied Cottage and Davy Lad. The market said Dessie would be proved right. And so he was: Davy Lad first at 12/1, Tied Cottage second at 20/1. That Irish domination may have been facilitated by events in running.

With over a circuit to go, Lanzarote – second favourite to become the first Champion Hurdle winner to complete the Gold Cup double – slipped up after jumping the ninth, came down and fractured a hind leg. If that were not enough, Lanzarote brought down Bannow Rambler, the favourite, ridden by Michael Furlong. In the heat of the moment, Michael remounted, setting off in futile pursuit, tailed off when calling it a day two from the finish. Perhaps St Patrick did have a hand in providing that welcome Irish one-two.

“IT’S YOUR TURN”

Six years later, Irish pilgrims to Prestbury Park toasted their patron saint’s day at the bookmakers’ expense when Caroline Beasley became the first woman to ride a Cheltenham Festival winner on her own Eliogarty in the Christie’s Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup. Trained by the ill-fated Barry Kelly, Eliogarty had been sent off favourite on the strength of Irish support. His elated owner guided him home with seven lengths to spare over Earls Brig.

While there might not have been an Irish-trained contender for the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Irish-owned Bregawn was sent off favourite to improve on his second in the race 12 months previously. On that occasion, Bregawn had run his stable companion Silver Buck to two lengths, leaving his owner both proud and disappointed. Sensing those mixed emotions, trainer Michael Dickinson had reassured Mr Kennelly: “Next year it’s your turn.” But how much luck was that going to need? A year is an awfully long time in which to preserve a steeplechaser from injury or illness Sure enough, as good as his word, Michael Dickinson had returned for the Gold Cup, for which Bregawn and Graham Bradley were sent off favourite to fulfil Michael’s promise made 12 months ago.

Bregawn’s owner may well have wondered why his trainer saw fit to field four other runners, headed by Silver Buck, before concluding that their respective owners were equally entitled to a tilt at steeplechasing’s supreme prize.

In the race, Mr Kennelly had little cause for worry as Bregawn and Graham Bradley duly fulfilled Michael Dickinson’s year-old promise to the tune of five lengths. Moreover, his closest pursuers comprised the Dickinson quartet of Captain John, Wayward Lad, Silver Buck and Ashley House. As a training feat in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Michael Dickinson’s achievement on St Patrick’s Day 1983 is unlikely ever to be equalled.

The annual ‘drowning of the shamrock’ did not coincide with the Cheltenham Festival again until 1987 when St Patrick, Deborah Threadwell, John Mulhern, Tommy Carmody and the gallant Galmoy combined to prevent an Irish whitewash when carrying off the Waterford Crystal Stayers’ Hurdle. While that team repeated its success in 1988 – avoiding another Irish whitewash – they had to do so without St Patrick’s assistance.

Charlie Swan had flown the flag for Ireland over the first two days of the 1994 Cheltenham Festival, delivering on Danoli, Time For A Run and Mucklemeg. But not even St Patrick could avert an Irish washout on March 17th when Charlie was unseated from Ebony Jane in the Gold Cup won by The Fellow, trained in Lamorlaye by Francois Doumen and ridden by Adam Kondrat for the Marquesa de Moratalla.

Our patron saint proved much more effective in the last Cheltenham Festival of the 20th century when Fran Berry got Khayrawani home by a head and a neck from compatriots Miltonfield and Generosa to land the Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle for J.P. McManus and Curragh trainer Christy Roche. His intervention came to the rescue an hour later when Tony Martin got Deejaydee home by a neck to collect the spoils in the National Hunt Challenge Cup for Rathkeale trainer Michael Hourigan and owner Mrs M Devine.

St Patrick did not play a part in the Cheltenham Festival again until 2004 when he perched on David Casey’s shoulder as Rule Supreme led his field home in the Royal & SunAlliance Chase at 25/1 for trainer Willie Mullins and owner John P. Lynch.

Unfortunately, not even St Patrick could keep Barry Geraghty in the plate when odds-on defending champion Moscow Flyer dislodged him four out in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. However, faith was restored in the concluding Champion Bumper in which Jim Culloty got the well-backed Total Enjoyment home in front for fellow Kerryman Thomas Cooper and the It Will Never Last Syndicate.

In echoes of a youthful Ruby Walsh leading in Commanche Court after his Triumph Hurdle win in 1997, trainer’s son Bryan Cooper led Total Enjoyment back into that hallowed winner’s enclosure to raucous acclaim.

Had the Cheltenham Festival not been extended to four days meaning the Gold Cup was run on the concluding Friday, St Patrick could have claimed some of the credit for Kicking King’s Gold Cup triumph under Barry Geraghty for trainer Tom Taaffe and owner Conor Clarkson. Instead, it was trainer Ian Duncan and owner Ronald Lilley who saw their prayers answered when Mr M.J. O’Hare drove Another Rum clear up that punishing hill to win the National Hunt Challenge Cup at a lucrative 40/1 for disciples from Downpatrick.

For those who had missed out on Another Rum, prompt compensation was their lot when Paul Carberry delivered the goods aboard Oulart in the Pertemps Final Hurdle for Osborne Lodge trainer Dessie Hughes and owner Ged Pierse, at a pleasing 10/1.

IRISH ONE-TWO-THREE

With St Patrick back on duty on Gold Cup day in 2006, hopes were high for further honours at the highest level. So it proved when Conor O’Dwyer on War Of Attrition led home an Irish one-two-three, ahead of Ruby Walsh on Hedgehunter and Barry Geraghty on Forget The Past. Characteristically modest in victory, owner Michael O’Leary declared that if such good fortune never again came his way, those moments would last him to the end of his days. As for winning trainer Mouse Morris, he hid his emotions behind that trademark smokescreen.

Less than an hour later, St Patrick’s Day celebrations continued for Whyso Mayo led home another Irish one-two-three in the Christie’s Foxhunter Challenge Cup under Mr D. Murphy for trainer Raymond Hurley and owner Mrs Kathleen O’Driscoll.

Coincidentally, the next occasion on which St Patrick’s Day coincided with the Cheltenham Festival – in 2010 – saw Michael O’Leary draw first blood for the Irish when Charles Byrnes sent out Weapon’s Amnesty to carry off the RSA chase in the hands of Davy Russell.

Just as four years previously, Michael O’Leary was succeeded in the winner’s enclosure by fellow countrymen when Barry Geraghty brought Big Zeb home a clear-cut winner of the Queen Mother Champion Chase for trainer Colm Murphy and owner Patrick Redmond.

To be fair to St Patrick, he was given very little to work with in 2011. Nevertheless, he got the day off to a bright start for his pilgrim faithful when Tony McCoy landed the opener on Noble Prince, successful in the Jewson Novice Chase for trainer Paul Nolan and owner Des Sharkey. Moreover, the disciples were on, Noble Prince vying for favouritism with his immediate victim, Wishful Thinking, four lengths second under Richard Johnson.

Eager for action years after that tiresome calendar-dictated absence, St Patrick returned to the fray in 2016. His performance over that Thursday afternoon convinced the most hardened of cynics that Prestbury Park on March 17th really does belong to those who swear by the shamrock. True, we had no match for Thistlecrack, but the other six races all fell to the raiders.

Willie Mullins helped himself to a treble with Black Hercules, Vautour and Limini. Gordon Elliott, Pat Kelly and Colm Murphy each hit the back of the net, with Cause Of Causes, Mall Dini and Empire Of Dirt respectively. Nonetheless, the paper of record headlined Brian O’Connor’s report: “Brilliant Thistlecrack being primed for 2017 Gold Cup.”

As luck – and the calendar – would have it, this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup is down for decision on St Patrick’s Day. The 20/1 quoted about Thistlecrack’s chance 12 months hence has long since disappeared. Indeed, some not old enough to know better have had the temerity to declare Thistlecrack worthy to be mentioned in the same sentence as Himself.

For those of us privileged to have lived with Arkle, that was reason enough to count down the days. J