YORKSHIRE trainer Richard Fahey sent out Nurse Dee, a Kodiac three-year-old filly owned by Anthony O’Callaghan, to win at Wolverhampton last Monday.

He tweeted after the race: “Well done “Nurse Dee”. Quite a poignant winner. She was named by Pat Smullen after Nurse Dee who looked after him through his illness. Always in our thoughts Pat.”

Driven home by Laura Pearson, to win by a head, the 14/1 winner is indeed named after a nurse at Dublin’s St Vincent’s Private Hospital who inspired Pat to take a positive approach to dealing with his cancer diagnosis.

Pat went on to drive a fund raising campaign which raised €2.6 million for Cancer Trials Ireland.

Pat’s wife Frances tweeted her congratulations to Fahey in reply: “Pat was really touched by this gesture & no doubt is celebrating in heaven! I’ve let the human nurse Dee know & she’s delighted - this is for her & all the hardworking nurses in SVPH.”

UNABLE to sell admission tickets for this year’s Dublin Racing Festival, Leopardstown Racecourse are marketing a shared platter of ‘rare auld Dublin’ cuisine which can be delivered to your door and you can enjoy while watching the racing on Saturday and Sunday, February 6th and 7th.

The €80 Race & Graze package includes, well it would have to, Dublin Coddle, a dish of bacon, pork sausages, onions and potatoes and the secret is in the stock, beef and Guinness stew, a great excuse to go veggie with Dublin cheese potato boxty, served with sour cream and chives, chicken tenders dipped in buttermilk and coated with a crispy breadcrumb and served with a tomato relish and to finish off a traditional Dublin Gur cake, which turns out to be a pastry confection with a fruit based filling between two thin layers of pastry and served with Baileys custard.

The box of goodies includes a 500ml bottle of 5 Lamps Lager and one 500ml bottle of 5 Lamps Pale Ale.

With top-class racing and all that food, you needn’t get off the couch for two days! See leopardstown.com for more details.