THIS summer, Galway Races celebrates its 150th anniversary. History and tradition will form a major part of festivities at Ballybrit, with past victories and the glory days of old fondly recalled.

The parade ring at the Western venue has been home to some memorable scenes over the years and this year will be no different, particularly so should Norman Lee’s intended Galway Hurdle representative, Sole Pretender, come home in front.

Lee’s father, Christy, was heavily involved in the preparation of Lesabelle, who caused quite a stir when winning the Galway Hurdle under Liam O’Donnell back in 1973 for her then trainer Mark Scully.

Legend has it the 33/1 shot was backed to win a small fortune for her connections, having been prepared by Lee at Quakerstown (currently the home of the annual Co Clare Hunt Easter Sunday point-to-point) and on the beach at Lahinch.

Little wonder then Lee junior has earmarked a crack at the 2019 Galway Hurdle for his undoubted stable star Sole Pretender.

Galway base

A Clare native, Lee made the short trek across the county boundary from Tubber to set up his impressive training base in the shadows of well-known south Galway landmark, Kilmacduagh Round Tower, just outside Gort over 10 years ago. He has made terrific strides in his career since then, with Sole Pretender, unbeaten on his three starts to-date in 2019, leading the charge.

“I grew up around horses and I rode a few point-to-pointers of our own when I was in my 20s,” said Lee.

“I went off for a while then to work as a carpenter and to get a bit of money together to buy my own place. It’s very difficult to start from scratch in the racing game and you definitely have to work very, very hard. It takes a lot of effort and you have to be determined to make a go of it. When we started all I had was one thoroughbred, a fellow who did work on the yard for me gave us a horse to train, but we broke and pre-trained horses for others just to survive.”

Not afraid to roll up his sleeves, Lee took out his own license seven years ago and he currently has close on 30 horses riding out.

“It was tough to get going at the outset, but we are lucky enough to have a few very loyal owners. Finding a good horse like Sole Pretender has been a huge help.

“His owner, Michael Hogan, is with us since we started and is a pleasure to train for. He loves racing and is very enthusiastic about the game. He takes great pleasure in seeing his horses run and we are glad now that he now has a talented horse to enjoy.”

Proud

Lee is rightly proud of Sole Pretender’s progress to-date and has skilfully plotted a nice path to Ballybrit for the son of Gold Well, who is currently rated 147 over the minor obstacles.

“He’s the apple of our eye to be honest and having a horse good enough to run at Galway is great, not to mind having a runner with half a chance in a race as traditional as the Galway Hurdle. We knew he was a decent horse right from the word go. We have taken him along at a nice, steady pace and he is improving away all the time. The Hurdle is a very competitive handicap, but our horse in good order and we hope to get him there in top shape.

“He’s won his three starts over hurdles this year, twice at Ballinrobe and at Wexford in-between.

“It seems not to have knocked a feather out of him. Getting that experience into him was vital as you’d need to be street-wise for the hustle and bustle of the Hurdle.

“He’s a miller to jump and we’re hoping he’ll get that rub of the green you need in that type of race. I’m very lucky to have great people working for me in the yard. They put so much hard work in and I’d be lost without them to be honest. It’s very much a team effort, it just wouldn’t work otherwise.”

Significance of the Festival

The significance of the week-long Galway fixture is not lost on Lee who, like so many, marks it out as a not-to-be-missed occasion.

“The Galway Festival is a big deal in this area. A lot of local people base their holidays around the week at Ballybrit and the atmosphere there is electric.

“The organizers do a wonderful job catering for the crowds and always produce the course in excellent condition. It’s the summer highlight for people in the west of Ireland there is no doubt about that.”

If Sole Pretender manages to make it four wins on the trot by claiming the 2019 Galway Hurdle crown for his hard-working 41-year-old trainer, expect to see raucous scenes of celebration to equal or surpass anything seen in the famed number-one spot over the past century and a half.

Norman Lee with Oskar High at Ballinrobe this May \ Healy Racing