‘This is the greatest day of our lives since the tragedy in Berkeley’

A fairy-tale first winner at Leopardstown Christmas Festival brought jubilant and emotional scenes by the track and in the winner's enclosure afterwards. A horse owned by a racing club set up in memory of Niccolai Schuster, one of the six Irish students killed in the Berkeley balcony collapse in June 2015, pulled off a shock victory in the maiden race.

Ellie Mac was, at 50/1, not a favourite of the bookies but was a very popular winner among the relatives and friends of the late student. They wore blue and red scarves in honour of the 21-year-old Dubliner, who died with five others on the J-1 summer visa programme in the Californian tragedy.

“This is the greatest day of our lives since the tragedy in Berkeley,” said John Schuster, Nick’s father, in the winner’s enclosure after the race. “My son was a great racing fan, and we decided at a party to put a racing club together. There was no shortage of neighbours, friends, supporters from all over the world.”

Nick's mother, Graziella, explained that the blue and red were for Bayern Munich, her son's favourite soccer team. "He loved the Christmas festival here," she told RTÉ Sport. "He would be here every day – and what a way to start it off. He was on Daniel's shoulders."

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Schuster’s father held the trophy for the Horse & Jockey Hotel Maiden Hurdle up high as his son’s friends and relatives screamed, held their scarves up and punched the air with delight. It was the perfect way to remember a sports fanatic.

Afterwards the club’s young members celebrated over drinks in a marquee bar next to the Leopardstown grandstand. There were many unforgettable moments to play over again and again.

Good day for JP McManus

Another winner on the day, the Limerick racehorse owner and gambler JP McManus, was savouring a busy day at Leopardstown and several other tracks. "Good," he declared ebulliently when asked how his opening day at the Dublin racecourse was going.

“Just one win today?” he was asked after Espoir D’Allen, the favourite in the third race, romped home in the €45,000 Knight Frank Juvenile Hurdle. “One here,” he said, without naming his winners at other tracks on the day.

In all, 13,412 showed up at Leopardstown to make the most of chilly December sunshine – 1,088 fewer than last year. Bookmakers raked in just over €600,000, while €518,000 was gambled at the Tote. Both figures were down on last year.

Bono was a nonrunner again for the St Stephen’s Day card, leaving the band’s guitarist the Edge to stand in as the festival’s headline celebrity. Sitting next to his wife, Morleigh Steinberg, and wearing a black cap, the musician had a perfect view of the racetrack from a corner table in the VIP area of the pavilion.

The crowd, dominated by boisterous millennials, were dressed to mix with celebrities. "This is my debs suit from the summer," said Cian Brady, an 18-year-old from Drogheda, wearing a sharp-looking three-piece suit and tie. "This is about my sixth use out of it."

“He’s going to get buried in it,” joked his friend Philip Kirwan.

Brady was planning to gamble €100, his friend Cathal Clarke a “month’s wages” – although the pension administrator declined to say how much that was.

“I’ve one tip,” he said when asked if he would pick a winner or two. “Don’t bet.”

Heads soft in places

Heads were, like the going on the track, soft in places, as some were shaking off the excesses of Christmas Day and a busy day of board games. “We have been falling out of bed this morning,” said Michelle Clarke, a 19-year-old at Leopardstown from Meath. “There were a few Monopoly injuries – it gets very heated in Fairyhouse,” said her friend Saoirse Carey. She planned to rely on superstition and bet on “the first horse to poo in the ring” as she and her friends headed towards the parade ring.

Harry Boland, an 18-year-old from Donnybrook in Dublin, hit a lucky patch. He cheered on Tisamystery – another winner trained, like Ellie Mac, by Henry de Bromhead – in the sixth race from the grandstands. “Second bet, second win,” he said proudly about his 14/1 wager before declaring that he would spend his winnings on “more bets and a few pints”.