Front page: The photo is of Possessive Dancer, winner of the Irish Oaks.
There is a short news piece headed “Fined”. It states that Barry Langan, judge at Down Royal on Monday, has been fined £100 for calling the wrong result of a photo-finish. “The Stewards found that he was remiss in failing to go through his normal procedures” it says, adding that the placings for the KPMG Peat Marwick Maiden have been reversed, and that Kalmalek is the correct winner with Thatchaway second.
The other front page item is a piece by Valentine Lamb about Limerick racecourse, which is “near to being sold to property interests.”
Located at the south-west edge of Limerick city, the 135-acre site has been zoned for housing. The estimated value of the site is about £4 million. The racecourse last made a profit in the year ending January 31st 1989, of £29,979.
The course owners had planned to build a new leisure and conference centre on the land behind the stands, but planning permission has been refused.
Dunne win at Dundalk: The track stages a card on Friday afternoon, July 12th, and the going is good. It’s a good day for trainer Frank Dunne, who has a double. Fine Print, with Kevin Manning wearing Dunne’s own colours, wins the fillies’ maiden. Later, Happy Rover, owned by Mrs Elizabeth McMahon, wins division one of the seven furlong handicap in the hands of Warren O’Connor.
There’s just one race over jumps, the opening handicap hurdle, and Muzahim wins for Kevin Prendergast and Charlie Swan.
There’s also Friday evening racing at Tipperary where the most interesting race is the last, the Veterans Race, over a mile and six furlongs.
The winner is Cock Cockburn, ridden by Tommy Carberry. The result is also popular as the winner is 5/4 favourite. Titorenko and Tommy Kinane are second, with Greville Starkey in third on Gladonia.
Irish Oaks: At the Curragh on Saturday, the going is good on the straight course, and good to firm on the round course. Feature today is the Kildangan Stud Irish Oaks.
The 10 runners are headed by 7/4 favourite Jet Ski Lady, winner of the Epsom Oaks; and the field includes Italian Oaks winner Possessive Dancer, who starts at 8/1.
At the finish, it is Possessive Dancer who has more finishing speed, and she and Steve Cauthen win by half a length from Jet Ski Lady, with three lengths back to Eileen Jenny in third.
The winner is owned by Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum and trained by Newmarket by Alex Scott. The runner-up is owned by Sheikh Maktoum Al Maktoum, trained by Jim Bolger and ridden by Christy Roche, and this trio share a winner in the earlier Group 3 Curragh Stakes where Leading Time wins by a head from Safety Tactic. Roche has another winner later when Sunset Partner wins the Old Vic Series Handicap.
Lester Piggott and Vincent O’Brien join forces to win the Listed Minstrel Stakes with Rimpa; and Sheikh Mohammed himself, having sponsored the big race, has a winner with Lynch Law and Johnny Murtagh.
Afterwards, it is announced that Sheikh Ahmed and Sheikh Maktoum are donating their prize money today, nearly £120,000, to the Kildare St Vincent De Paul Conference.
Down Royal Saturday: Two special visitors are jockeys: Peter Scudamore and Richard Dunwoody. Course manager Iain Duff tells reporter Cliff Noone: “There are about three times as many people here as would attend a normal Saturday meeting and it’s all thanks to Scudamore and Dunwoody.”
Neither rides a winner, but Noone says that: “They thoroughly enjoyed themselves and spent most of the afternoon signing autographs for their admiring fans.”
Also enjoying themselves are Dermot Weld and Pat Shanahan, and Con Collins and Pat Gilson, who between them monopolise the four flat races.
Photo-finish controversy: The BBC cameras are at Down Royal on Monday for a card that features the UIster Harp Derby, and after Oaks success on Saturday, Steve Cauthen follows up with Derby success today. Wearing the Sheikh Mohammed colours, he rides Dowland to an easy five-length victory.
The Northern Ireland Tourist Board Oaks goes to 20/1 outsider Aqua Lily and Warren O’Connor, who overturn the favourite High Pressure.
But the BBC do not show the KPMG Peat Marwick Maiden, which becomes the most interesting race of the day. The photo-finish camera is called into action, and the judge, Barry Langan, declares Thatchaway the winner by a short-head from Kalmalek. The result is announced, the “winner all right” is declared, and punters are paid out.
But afterwards, the judge realises he has made an error and reports to the stewards. The result stands on the day, and the local stewards can only refer the matter to the Turf Club.
Reporter Cliff Noone writes: “Hard cheese on those punters who backed Kalmalek on course. But no harder than on those who endured a couple of wrong decisions during the point-to-point season and whose complaints fell on deaf ears.”
Killarney Festival: This year’s Killarney festival marks the departure of Finbarr Slattery as course manager. But when the fixture starts on Monday evening, the star performer is Lester Piggott. He rides a treble, with Defendant, News Headlines in the featured Heineken Handicap, and Classic Trust, all trained by Vincent O’Brien. Reporter Cliff Noone especially praises Piggott’s ride on Classic Trust.
It’s the culmination of a lot of work and effort from Slattery to get the Maestro to visit Killarney, and the course is rewarded with a new record Tote turnover of £73,637.
In the Inside Track column on page two, Claire Barry writes that Piggott’s visit to Killarney included a two-hour trip in a jaunting car!
Killarney Tuesday: The biggest prize is for the Killarney Racegoers Long Distance Handicap Hurdle, and this is won by Chirkpar, ridden by Brendan Sheridan for Michael Smurfit and trainer Jim Bolger. Cliff Noone praises the gutsy performance of Shining Hour to win the handicap chase, ridden by Normal Williamson.
For the concluding bumper, the bookies do £125,000 worth of business, including a gamble on Ballyverane from tens in to 13/8 second favourite. But the winner is 11/10 favourite Easter Sixteen, ridden by Roger Hurley.
Curtin takes feature: Wednesday afternoon, the feature race is the Dawn Milk Run Handicap, worth £5,520, over two miles, and this is won by Desert Squaw, trained by Ted Curtin, owned by Frank Hardy and ridden by apprentice Declan O’Shea.
Dermot Weld and Michael Kinane share a double with Carefree Dancer and Alecia Bonnecelli.
Over jumps, the Doyle Brothers Chase is won by Foxe’s Castle. His owner/trainer/rider Patrick Millington gets him up on the line to win by a neck from Howe Street. Afterwards, Millington is given a 28-day suspension and fine of £500 by the stewards for his use of the whip.
After success at Dundalk last Friday, Muzahim wins the Asdee Handicap Hurdle at 11/8 favourite, again ridden by Charlie Swan.
The Killarney meeting concludes on Thursday afternoon with yet another Tote aggregate record of £78,196. Feature race is the Murphys Irish Stout Handicap Hurdle, which is won by Fayafi, ridden by Pat Malone for the Arthur Moore stable.
Obituary: On Wednesday, trainer and legendary point-to-point rider, Willie Rooney, dies at the age of 77.
Born in Wales, Rooney was riding as an amateur until 1974, reaching a score of 401 point-to-point winners. As a trainer, his biggest success was the 1984 Irish Grand National with Bentom Boy, ridden by his daughter Anne Ferris. Another of his daughters, Rosemary Stewart, finished third.
Britain: Ian Carnaby’s first topic this week is Sunday racing, which is a step farther away following a Home Affairs Select Committee report. This recommends that betting shops remain closed if Sunday racing takes place. Carnaby realises that this is not viable. But he is led to write about illegal betting: “Anyone who spends time in inner-city pubs and clubs when there is racing on television knows that illegal books are made and run along strict business lines.”
The key is television coverage: “People bet on what they can see. Without television, they would not be all that bothered anyway.”
Carnaby’s closing words: “The real reason the bookmakers do not want Sunday racing without off-course betting is because there is nothing in it for them, and it would be refreshing if they admitted the fact.”
On the course, at Hamilton on Wednesday, popular trainer Jack Berry reaches 100 winners for the season, his fastest ever century.
France: Desmond Stoneham writes about “the riding find of the season.” His name is Thierry Jarnet. Last Sunday, he wins the Prix Eugene Adam on Arcangues, and then on Tuesday, he wins the Prix Messidor on Acteur Francais. Both are trained by André Fabre.
Letters to the Editor: Comment includes correspondence about the recent decision by RTÉ Radio to axe the popular “Airs and Races” programme, hosted by Val Joyce.
Thomas Cummins of Clondalkin in Dublin writes that he usually listens to the programme at work on a Saturday afternoon, and his workmates have no objection to the racing, but “I am outvoted when it comes to the rest of Val’s show; not merely because of the lack of sport, but also because of the Airs content, 90% of which comes from the same league Daniel O’Donnell plays in.”
Richard Magee of Mallow, Co Cork, writes that his home will become “Saturday afternoon without Radio 1 in this house” if the decision to replace Airs and Races is implemented, and dislikes the idea of replacing Val Joyce with a sports programme hosted by Jimmy Magee. “Inflicting Jimmy Magee on the RTÉ listernership will drive it into the arms of the opposition.”
Trainers’ Wives: There is another article in the series “The Trainer’s Wife”, written by “Owen Tudor”. Today, the subject is Mrs Maureen Mullins, wife of legendary trainer Paddy Mullins, and mother of Willie, George, Tony, Tom and Sandra.
“Owen Tudor” tells us that Mrs Mullins “rides out two lots every morning.” She also introduces him to star racemare Grabel (now in foal to Executive Perk). “Owen Tudor” writes: “Maureen doesn’t need a formbook, she carries that information in her head. She discusses bumper races that the boys have ridden in with the emphasis on the pace of the race.”