GALWAY ON TV

WE’RE ready, are you?” asked the opening sequence to the RTÉ coverage of the 2017 Galway races. A few moments from past festival weren’t long in warming us up, if anticipation needed to be ratcheted up anymore.

The first word that strikes you was pride, Tom Broderick, for nearly 50 years, looking after the track. Mary Lee, heading off as a child and a young woman, Robbie Power, preparing and steering the horses, all proud of what they are about to contribute to Ireland’s greatest racing festival, the week in the west.

Tom Broderick put some of the current debate on working conditions into perspective. “A lot of hard work… I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Behind the cameras, Robert, Ted, Tracy, Sally Ann, Brian and Tom are in place.

Ted notes the number of entries for a race on Thursday “65 entries… 65 people would like to run.” That’s Galway for you.

“We’re not in a bad place,” Lorcan Wyer tells Tracy out on the track before the last hurdle. Who would disagree? It was a perfect place to be on a Monday night in July but it was the underfoot conditions we were concerned with this time.

Johnny Ward’s in the right place too, in the shades, in the ring, more pride again. “I’m proud to be from Galway.” Johnny puts up Timiyan for the Hurdle and Bentelimar for the Plate. He’s involved in the Kimberley Racing Syndicate with tomorrow’s runner Fuwairt and Brian Gleeson’s Deor is out in the opener. There could be celebrations for all.

“Barry’s back!”- Tony O’Hehir calls home Le Richebourg as the winning odds-on favourite in the opener with Barry Geraghty back – an easy winner. Shure finding winners will be easy.

With nothing less than a 6/1 shot for the rest of the evening, it was a false dawn.

Four famous Galway hurlers join Brian – Noel Lane, Martin Naughton, Bernie Ford, Liam Donoghue and look forward to the Tipp/Galway match on Sunday. The former county hurdlers now get together in a club of their own, players representing over seven decades, 300 members, Noel tells Brian.

Ask Ted resurfaces for the annual #AskTed interlude. “Why am I not on Twitter, am I not on enough of yokes… never mind Twitter?” he counters. There was no shock on the Bryan Cooper/Gigginstown changes he replies, “Nothing would surprise me with Michael O’Leary,” but Robert felt it was a “weight of a rider’s mind, he’ll be the better for it.”

Later on Jimmy Williams provides the line of the night: “what’s Ted’s favourite emoji? I don’t know what an emoji is, I drive a Toyota.”

In the second race. Shane Ryder enjoys a local success at 20/1 with Pateen and tells Tracy, “it always a dream to have winner at the festival, I can tick it of the list, this is Cheltenham for me... a small trainer in the west... it doesn’t get any better for me.”

Barry Geraghty beaming at being back in the saddle. “I was more excited coming here today than I’ve been coming racing in a long time... mad keen.”

There’s a feature on who is the fitter athlete between Kilkenny hurler T.J. Reid and Mikey Fogarty. T.J gets off to a flying start on the rowing machine but Mikey hits back and outlasts him on ‘the plank’. One all, it’s to be continued tomorrow.

Sally Ann interviews Hector or was it the otherway around?

Over three hours of coverage come to a close with Aubrey and Luke McMahon enjoying the moment of a lifetime as 16/1 shot Whiskey Sour comes to foil favourite backers. You couldn’t but be happy for them.

Money lost, food to be found and smiling again for more tomorrow. It’s that kind of place.