A Great Weekend in Dublin

Learnt and confirmed a few things this weekend...

Suny Bay is a really nice guy but knows nothing about racing (Celestial Halo!?!?!?)...

I hope I look as good as An Capall does when I am in my late 50s (early 60s?)...

Gearoid would back and lay (in every sense) anything...

Betsmate really wants the flat season to start...

Don't get on Arkwright's bad side...

Del Boy is an alcoholic...

And I really really wish I went to Krystle on Saturday night!!!

Great weekend, great people - definitely do it again. As Del Boy said, well done for Grey and Cantoris for organising everything. All worked a treat and Brave Inca winning was just the icing on the cake. Magic.
 
It was humungeous. Everyone should have a TH weekend in Ireland! Really, go for it! - Damn the expense
Navan and Leopardstown were such a great contrast too - one rural and low key, the other big and semi-urban, both very friendly and full of people who love their racing.

I put my thanks on the wrong thread, but I'm sure everyone will be reading that one anyway LOL

Trudij so sorry you weren't there but I got you the consolation prize of a clean and unsullied Racecard, from the Racecourse Office! - I've got quite a nice little collection for you now...
 
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Top weekend guys, well done. Great company.

Special thanks:

To Grey for organising some top class racing, food and entertainment.
To Cantoris for driving me around the Irish countryside, the Northside and for a wine-addled tour of Krystal.
And to Hezz and Del Boy for their unabated enthusiasm for anything equine or alcoholic.

The highlight was of course Brave Inca's victory, but credit to Andrew McNamara for so ably filling Stéphane Pasquier's boots!
 
Absolutely top drawer weekend! Can only add my thanks to Grey and Cantoris for a truly well organised weekend. Can't wait for the next one. Hopefully Navan will be replaced all the same, my 1st time at the track and can't see myself returning any time soon!

What a day of racing yesterday! Betsmate 'talked himself into a bet' in the first after all his self protestations to the contrary...lucky you're as weak-willed as myself BM, good ride Andrew Mac!! What the day could have been.....Forpaddytheplasterer, central house and Ross Accord....another day and the bookies would have been opening the safe!! Although i'm sure some bookies were, after Brave Inca breaking the field's hearts, and once again warming the punters'. Congratulations again Cantoris!!

Seriously a pleasure to meet all involved. Roll on the 'Talking Horses and Winning Ways' sponsorship of the Arc!!
 
betsmate said:
To Cantoris for driving me around the Irish countryside, the Northside and for a wine-addled tour of Krystal
Click to expand...

Matey, no problem driving around the countryside but I'd forgotten my passport to get into the northside :rolleyes: so had to do the round the world with the sat nav. Just as well you were in the car or we would never have found that Ark's place. And what about that dead end street and the cops.....oh dear!! Happier thoughts of Krytle though. I'd say if we had Magnier and Mohammed there we would have smashed the sales record for a filly!!
 
Well now I know the town centre a bit better if we are in a position to do anything similar in the future I will hopefully stay somewhere more central.

I think the Arc and Champions Day at Leopardstown were muted,as Hezz says we are looking to extend the sponsorship to Longchamp with the Prix Cadran one of the frontrunners.

Personally I'd love to go to Auteil for something like the French Champion or even the Pardubicke.

Can't see us affording to go to the Melbourne Cup which is the one meet I would most like to go to.

Big thanks for everyone for a grand weekend,especially to Cantoris for transporting us to and from Navan and of course to Grey for organising the tickets for the races and the restaurant booking for Saturday.

I declined the pub and club but I'm led to believe 4 o'clock was the estimated time of departure from Krystles for those who could remember!

Unfortunately Hungover managed to fall in his race,would have been an ironic winner for some.

Always great to put names to faces and what strikes me most about the Irish racecourses is their more relaxed nature.

Everyone is very knowledgable and passionate about their sport,none of the drunken rowdiness (maybe I missed all that in the early hours of Sunday Morning!) that you see at many UK courses.

I mean how many racecourses in the UK can you turn up in tracksuit bottoms and a pair of trainers,not many!! (Obviously even less so when added a York City replica shirt and coat.)

I wish someone could explain to me the whole Toblerone thing though,an Irish meet wouldn't be the same without them at the course exit when you leave.

Kicking myself for not ending my betting sabbatical with Brave Inca but undoubtedly the highlight of the weekend equine wise.

Unfortunately the best laid plans for awarding the best turned out in the sponsored bumper based on the best looking lass went tits up as all the lasses were actually lads!

Have a lot of photos and am not sure how long it will take to whittle them down to a reasonable amount to post on here.
The best turned out in the opener at Navan could be the first to be given an airing!!!

Thanks again to one and all.
 
What an enjoyable weekend. Well done to Brave Inca for reading the script and providing an occasion to savour.

Thanks to all who chipped in with financial, moral and logistical support and thanks to everyone for being such pleasant company. We have some good folk on this forum.

I should mention that Darren Lawlor at Navan racecourse was really good to us, allowing us to switch the date of the race from the last Saturday before Christmas
to this weekend, which meant we could tie in with the Leopardstown meeting. He also allowed us to change the format from a sit down lunch to a less formal do for a larger number and he worked hard to make sure Leopardstown looked after us as well.

Headstrong and Arkwright, I look forward to seeing some snaps. Perhaps if either of you had come to Krystle I wouldn't be saying that!
 
Was not there, we had our own little party in Cheltenham and various surrounds of the West Country, but from a dingy little bookies near Hungerford some of us were cheering on Brave Inca and half way through the race the rest of the shop joined in. Great win from a brave and handsome little horse, and many congratulations to all connections.

Envy those of you who were there!
 
Thanks, Arkwright, for putting up some snaps from Navan in the Photography section.

What did you say to Nina Carberry, by the way, to produce such a scowl? :lol:
 
Mine of Navan aren't bad but the light was horrible at Leopardstown and althugh they looked fine on the camera - so I didn't fiddle much with the settings - they have come out horribly dark and I've had to do a lot of juggling.


I have no means of putting them up here directly, unless I find the time to find out how to use Photobucket. I'll email a few to Cantoris anyway.... Can we not have our own hosting uploader as they do on FF?? Will go and enjoy Arkwright's now!
 
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We do (use the attachment icon on the toolbar in the advanced reply). e.g.:
 

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It was fun to meet the people in Dublin.

Brave Inca tough horse, remarkable to see him winning a good race being so old after being injured.
 
It sounds like you all had a great weekend and that certain people should arrange racing weekends permanently given the amount of plaudits they have received.

I am looking forward to seeing the photos.
 
At the risk of attracting a load of critical comments from the usual suspects :cool:
Here is the link to the piece on the weekend on the eclipse website:

http://www.eclipsemagazine.co.uk/magazine/ireland:racingweekend24and25jan2009.html

You may have to sign up to see them but it's free and you will NOT be driven mad with emails from them - they don't do that.

If there are any mis-identifications, or if anyone can put a name to any faces I've not identified, please let me know asap (pref by pm!). By popular request I've not put in any of our shy fellow-forumites - I promised to send out a few of those to various people and will do that next week, apologies for the delay

There are a couple of Harchibald btw in the piece on the Kempton KG, which is also in the 'Out & About' section - I've got better pics but didn't send them in as I have to surrender copyright on commissions - Ireland wasn't a commission! not that the pics are much cop given the light and conditions which my camera just can't handle.). Sad to see Pressgang int he Kemtpon set, knowing he's gone now
http://www.eclipsemagazine.co.uk/magazine/outandabout/kinggeorgedayatkemptonpark.html
 
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