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| |  Thursday, 7 March, 2002, 16:07 GMT The Irish invasion Irish hero: Treble champion hurdler Istabraq BBC Sport Online's Frank Keogh examines why thousands of Irish punters make the annual pilgrimage to Gloucestershire for the Cheltenham Festival. Some Irishmen are known to have requested their ashes be scattered along the famous uphill finish at Cheltenham Racecourse. It is a fitting resting place for those who make the journey annually to Prestbury Park. Every March, this corner of a Cotswold town becomes a suburb of Ireland. And for Irish racegoers, the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival is a mecca - an event with almost religious significance.
An estimated 5,000 racegoers make the trip from the Emerald Isle for the three-day meeting. At least the same number again are punters of Irish extraction, but currently living in England. So exactly what is it about 20 races in the heart of Gloucestershire that prove such a Celtic attraction? Ireland is a great breeder of trainers and jockeys, as well as horses, and there has always been a huge incentive to get one over on the old English enemy on their own soil. Legendary racehorse Arkle really started the ball rolling with his defeat of English star Mill House in the 1964 Gold Cup, the Festival's feature race. Mare Dawn Run produced another Irish fairytale by becoming the only horse to complete the Champion Hurdle-Gold Cup double, winning the second leg in 1986. And more recently, Istabraq has beaten all England - and France - has to offer with three consecutive Champion Hurdle victories. The whole National Hunt season, from early winter, builds up to Cheltenham. A winner there is the ultimate for all concerned.
Former champion jockey Richard Dunwoody and current leading rider Tony McCoy are both Ulstermen. Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Mick Fitzgerald, Norman Williamson and Adrian Maguire are all Irish. About a sixth of the 350-plus runners at the Festival can normally be expected to have travelled over. Every year, bookmakers offer odds on the number of Irish-trained winners, with between four and six the most popular. Each of these winners is greeeted by a triumphant roar and wild celebrations around the winners' enclosure. Tales of travelling priests staking the church collection on a good thing in the 3.30 may be somewhat exaggerated. But part of the joy of the event is getting one over on the old, old enemy - the bookies.
Big-time Irish gamblers such as Istabraq's owner JP McManus and Barney Curley, have taken hundreds of thousands of English pounds out of the betting ring. This year, the Euro will become common currency for one week in Gloucestershire following the Republic of Ireland's switch from the punt. Racecourse officials encourage the overseas contingent, even allowing a special tented village sponsored by Guinness - the brewers who sell thousands of pints during the week. But maybe the real reason why the Irish attach themselves to Cheltenham is 'the craic' - just having a good time. Irish music echoes out of marquees at the course and bars in the town. There's sing-songs, dancing and card games that go on into the early hours. And, of course, the Festival is held in the third week of March, coinciding with that other great Irish occasion, St Patrick's Day. | |
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