The monarchy turned up for Day Two at Cheltenham, but nearly everything else went in favour of the Republic. The Tricolour and the chant "You'll Never Beat the Irish" were seen and heard at the festival after red-hot favourite Moscow Flyer flew to victory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
It wasn't just royalists who were looking away. When Tony Martin's Xenophon landed another huge Irish gamble in the Coral Cup, the Cheltenham bookies were covering their eyes too.
Not since the John Rusnak inquiry have so many Irish bankers justified themselves when the hard questions were asked. But Moscow Flyer's skinny 7-4 price reflected his reputation as the big Irish hope of the festival. Even the Minister for Agriculture had backed him at a relatively plump 11-4 to boot.
Amid the crush in the winner's enclosure, Joe Walsh declined to reveal exactly how much of his money was involved, but admitted the Dublin-owned horse was his main bet of the festival.
So it was for many others too. After collecting the trophy from Princess Anne, winning owner Brian Kearney spoke of his relief that the horse had not buckled when carrying the weight of such a reputation.
It could have been even worse for the bookies. Yesterday's first Irish winner, Hardy Eustace, was a well backed 6-1, but it averted an even more painful result for the turf accountants by beating Pizarro and Coolnagorna.
Bookie "Fearless Freddie" Williams took £150,000 at 5-1 in a single bet on Coolnagorna. His wallet still bulging with the reported £100,000 he received from J.P. McManus on a Tuesday loser, he didn't blink, but he must have been a relieved man when the Jonjo O'Neill-trained horse failed to win.
The horse that did win was not the best backed of the day but the celebration was one of the rowdiest. Half of Co Carlow appeared to have accompanied Lar Byrne's Hardy Eustace.
The owner admitted having a "right good touch" on his horse, at odds longer than the final 6-1, but so excited were the celebrations that he was sporting a cut lip, sustained while attempting to kiss the wife of Dessie Hughes, the winning trainer.
The only downer of the day from an Irish point of view was the failure of Arctic Copper to feature anywhere in the Mildmay of Flete Chase. The horse owned by a number of politicians did not lack for support here and reflecting the caution for which his owners' profession is famous, was seen as a good each-way bet. But like an opposition amendment to the Freedom of Information Bill, he was totally defeated.
Today, most attention will be on the Gold Cup, in which Ireland's favourite, Beef or Salmon, takes on England's favourite, Best Mate. The bookies will be cheering for France.
