Best moments
TO see Jack Wilson sitting alongside John Richardson in a two-seater training cart behind Emeric Perreux summed up a lifetime of race-going for me. Jack actually owned Windys Son, John’s first drive in a race in 1981. Windys Son failed to win a race. The driver went on to win 1,300 and counting.
A few weeks later, Jack presented a cup to Stevie Lees (below) who won the Bookmakers Pace with Panam Colt, a catch drive for Billy Roche. The hardened pro, with the scars to prove it, and Corinthian Jack, a baker by trade. I was within earshot, and was impressed that little Stevie took so much interest in Jack.
Performance of the year
THE performance of the year was on Irish soil from a pair of gifted English hands. Stevie Lees’ inspired move when he sensed a lull in the pace at the half in the Bookmakers Pace (Lees was on the aforementioned Panam Colt).
That stuff cannot be taught – you either have it or you don’t.
The aptly-named Miraculous, owned by Arnie Flower of Derbyshire and driven by our own Patrick Kane junior, put up the equine performance of the year in breaking the track record in August. The time of 1.55.6 is stunning when we consider that most of the Irish and British horses which have tried their hand in the US have ‘found’ six or seven seconds due to climate and tracks.
I refuse to say it’s down to training methods as I would back the best of the Irish and English trainers against all comers.
THE introduction of the Tiny Hooves Series of pony racing has been an unqualified success. The joy on the children’s faces and also their adult co-drivers was sight to behold.
Plans and some welcome funding from Horse Sport Ireland are afoot to improve the racing and most importantly the training of the young drivers.
Room for improvement
RACING is run by unpaid volunteers, therefore I am loathe to criticise any aspect of the sport. I must also confess a vested interest as a working bookie at the track. There is simply too much confusion in communicating driver changes and handicap marks over the PA system. I have lost count of the number of horses which went behind the car with a driver in the bike different to the card and/or the announcement.
Scottish and Welsh harness racing and also point-to-points are also run by volunteers and in my experience have an almost 100% accuracy in this aspect. If we wish to sell the product to betting chains this has to be ‘regimental’.
IVAN Swindle of Fermanagh has done sterling work in building a glass fronted bar and canteen at Annaghmore Raceway. Hopefully the little facility will be open in 2020.
Another of our unsung heroes, a giant in the sport, is currently on a sabbatical from fence painting, track grading, battery charging, and number cloth repairing.
I appeal to this individual to come back to the fold, the racing is poorer without your input. Come back, and then we can sing about you!
THE year 2019 will be a hard act to follow. My gut feeling is that with so much knowledge and effort amongst Irish horsemen that something is going to break (not that type of break!) that puts Ireland on a world stage.
It could be a horse (Blackwell Ruby, Reclamation or Gentleman Jim) or a horseman (Sean Kane, Alan Richardson or Robbie Cleary) or a major race in Ireland.
I put in my letter to Santa that it would be great if a US-based trainer would buy a colt or filly (he/she wouldn’t need to be a sales-topper) for the VDM and then get the horse ready for the big race in North America before flying the animal here for the big weekend.
The venture won’t break even but what a story that would make!