RACING:ANYONE LOOKING for a break from the all-pervasive gloom and doom only had to go to Cheltenham yesterday, where four Irish-trained winners on Day One of the festival were added to by an historic Champion Hurdle victory for Barry Geraghty on Punjabi.
The 29-year-old Meath-based jockey completed a grand slam of Cheltenham’s top races as the 22 to 1 shot Punjabi repelled Celestial Halo and 6 to 4 favourite Binocular in a thrilling finish.
It completed Geraghty’s championship set after Kicking King’s 2005 Gold Cup, Iris’s Gift’s win in the 2004 World Hurdle and Moscow Flyer’s pair of victories in the Champion Chase (2003-05).
But Geraghty contributed to a memorable first day for Ireland as well by propelling Forpadydeplasterer to a hugely exciting, short-head success in the Arkle that turned the winner’s enclosure into a miniature Stadium of Light.
The red-and-white colours of the 12-member Goat Syndicate are also those of Sunderland football club, of which Goat Inn owner Charlie Chawke is a shareholder, and they celebrated in style.
It was a close-run thing, however, with Kalahari King closing to the line but failing to deny a horse whose name alone – a reference to a figure in the “dig out” controversy investigated in the Mahon Tribunal – has already guaranteed him a profile in keeping with his talent.
His Kerry-based trainer, Tom Cooper, had seen the horse finish runner-up in three Grade Ones this season, but this success added to Cooper’s 2003 Bumper victory with Total Enjoyment.
The Cross Country event turned into another JP McManus-Enda Bolger benefit as they combined to have the first three home: Garde Champetre completed back-to-back festival victories by beating stable companion and favourite L’Ami. It was a third straight win in the race for Nina Carberry.
Quevega finished the day on an Irish high by running away with the David Nicholson Mares Hurdle for the Ruby Walsh-Willie Mullins team, but Mullins had earlier felt Cheltenham’s ability to bite even those at the peak of their game.
After some uncertainty in the run-up to the Supreme Novices Hurdle, Cousin Vinny was still a well-backed Irish banker, only to finish a well-beaten fifth behind his compatriot Go Native.
Noel Meade’s history of painful festival defeat is well documented, but the pain of recovering from a back operation last week prevented him from travelling to Cheltenham to witness just his third success here.
“I don’t think that did my back much good. There were a few yips and yahoos coming up that straight,” Meade said from home as Paul Carberry celebrated a 12 to 1 victory.
The net, opening-day result, however, remains four Irish winners and after a festival run-in touched with apprehension, there are hopes of a repeat of 2006’s record tally of 10 winners during the height of the Celtic Tiger.
So, recession – what recession?
