26 RACECOURSE CHALLENGE – Number 23

THREE to go. My 23rd individual Irish racecourse visit of 2017 took me across the Shannon to Ballybrit and the famed Galway races, a meeting I will be back in attendance at today. Good weather meant that the first two days were bathed in sunshine and contributed to a good increase in people through the front gates. The main days on Wednesday and Thursday suffered minor falls in numbers, but there was no dampening the enthusiasm of those who braved it.

Galway Plate day has a special resonance for me. Family members and relations have won five Galway Plates and two Galway Hurdles and they are cousins Paddy Powell Senior and Junior, brothers and my great uncles Tommy and Jack McNeill, and most recently my brother Brendan.

Throw in other race wins for cousin Anthony and nephew Charles Weld, and it is easy to see why Galway is so special.

The three meetings left to complete the challenge are the festival meeting at Listowel, the unique setting of Laytown (see above), and Thurles on October 12th.