Bookies and punters just about share the spoils

It may be a celebration of St Stephen, but December 26th is traditionally a feast-day for the bookmakers, too. While some people mark the occasion by hunting the wren, many others prefer to play the turkey, flocking to racecourses in their thousands to find out what it's like to be stuffed.

The bad news for the bookies at Leopardstown yesterday was that legendary gambler J.P. McManus was among the attendance (and not at Kempton, where he owned the favourite in the King George VI Chase). The good news was that so were 17,600 others, including many from the "holly and ivy brigade": once-a-year punters desperate for diversion and full of Christmas spirit.

The day's benign weather encouraged foolish optimism and when a favourite won the opener - the Denny Waifos Maiden Hurdle - it seemed like an introductory offer from the bookmakers. Georgie's Best obliged at 7-2 and the innocents were set up for slaughter.

Sure enough, reality soon set in. Favourites failed in the next three races, with trainer Francis Flood and jockey Fran Flood jnr combining to win two and inspiring calls for a Flood tribunal.

Racing fans are more sentimental than they let on, however, and the biggest cheer of the afternoon thus far was for a horse few had backed in a race run elsewhere. Florida Pearl's televised victory in the King George raised the rafters, as nationalism momentarily triumphed over the pursuit of profit.

His defeat of First Gold also seemed to confirm J.P.'s wisdom in not being at Kempton. But, minutes later, there were more raucous cheers when Moscow Flyer justified favouritism in Leopardstown's big race, making it a double defeat for the Limerick man. His horse, Youlneverwalkalone, attempted to keep the winner company, but could only finish second.

In the penultimate contest, Woodenbridge Natif became the third winning favourite, threatening to overturn tradition and make it a bleak midwinter for the bookies. So it was three-all going into the last race, in which J.P. was represented by the hot favourite of 13, Sound as a Bell. He didn't quite ring true, though, and was a well-beaten third behind a 12-1 winner.

The only things ringing at the end were Jingle Bells, in the bookmakers' version ("Oh what fun it is to lay on a 13-horse open race").

So, in keeping with Christmas tradition, the turf accountants had enjoyed the last laugh, which sounded something like "Ho, Ho, Ho" and continued all the way to the bank.