IT IS not often you see Michael O’Leary having to take second place. But it happened yesterday in Leopardstown on the second day of the Christmas festival when his horse Siegemaster was comprehensively beaten into second place by Oscar Time in the main feature race worth more than €106,000 to the winner.
It was a classic case of David and Goliath because owner Eamon Kane from Navan, unlike the Master of Gigginstown and owner of Ryanair, has but a few horses. And the trainer, Martin Lynch, has a small yard which he said might have even fewer horses in it from next month on when recession really begins to bite. But yesterday the trainer from Castletowngeoghan, Co Westmeath, was not complaining.
Jockey Robbie Power was content to sit off the pace on the 10-1 chance, but moved into contention on the back straight and was one of a number of horses in the firing line on the home turn. He skipped clear after the last to readily hold the running-on Siegemaster.
Lynch said: “This has been the plan since last year and today was the day. He had a bad fall at the end of last season so we started him out over hurdles to get his confidence back but it then became the plan to set him up for a nice handicap chase, which this certainly is.”
In the first major meeting since Horseracing Ireland announced major cutbacks including in prizemoney, there were signs of recession all around the Dublin course. In the Celtic Tiger years, the sky would be full of helicopters, dropping down to the landing pad. There was only one chopper visible on Saturday and only two on Sunday.
It was reflected, too, in attendance figures which were 14,552 on St Stephen’s Day, down by just over 2,000 on the 2008 figure.
The Tote was also down by €37,000 on the previous year to €441, 805. The bookies were also feeling the pinch because punters spent €300,000 less than in 2008 – their turnover was €1.06 million compared with €1.36 million. The pattern continued yesterday with 14,600 punters going through the turnstiles compared with 16,000 last year and the bookies took €1.43 million in bets compared with €1.6 million in 2008.
However, there were no complaints about that from Paddy Power, the bookmaker whose company sponsored yesterday’s card. The Willie Mullins-trained Golden Silver claimed the scalp of Tranquil Sea in the Grade One Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase. Sent off at 5-2, the seven-year-old took it up five fences from home.
Absent from Leopardstown yesterday was Forpadydeplasterer who was withdrawn by the Goat racing syndicate, but former taoiseach Bertie Ahern was one of the guests at the event with syndicate member and publican Charlie Chawke.
The only Minister present was Conor Lenihan but former minister for agriculture Joe Walsh and the man who was once minister for food, Ned O’Keeffe, both from Cork, were in attendance. Gay Byrne and his wife Kathleen also made it to the track and veteran broadcaster Val Joyce was there.
Hot from his success at the St Stephen’s Day feature in Kempton where he rode Kauto Star to a historic victory by winning the William Hill King George V1 Chase in such style was Ruby Walsh.
However, his voyage on another “Star”, this time Secant Star in the opening race, showed how quickly fate can deal a new hand of cards. He had the race almost won, when he and his horse parted company.
Despite the recession, the generosity of racing followers and those involved in it was visible yesterday when the Irish Hospice Foundation was presented with a cheque for €100,000 from Paddy Power bookmakers – the proceeds of a year of fundraising by staff at the company.
Today will be a glamour day at the races when Andrea Roche judges the Irish Tatler and Fran Jane Most Stylish Lady Competition.
That is provided racing gets the all-clear at the 7.30am inspection due to the threat of frost.
The feature race on a seven-race card is the Lexus Chase, featuring among others Notre Pere, Joncol, Cooldine and the Paul Nicholls-trained What a Friend.