Irish eyes smiling at Cheltenham once more after memorable week

TYNAN'S TAKE BY STUART TYNAN

THE famous ‘Cheltenham roar’ may have been noticeably absent, but the familiarity of the Cheltenham Festival being dominated by parties from these shores remained the same.

While my own experiences of the festival can be best described as ‘doing a Ruby’ (think Annie Power in 2015 and Benie Des Dieux in 2019 and you’ll know why), it was a memorable festival once more for Ireland, and for Mayo.

The opening day was particularly memorable as Appreciate It, owned by Achill native Michael Masterson, claim the first race of the festival, and later that afternoon Breaffy duo Siobhan and Albert Dravins and Achill’s Eamonn and Anna Scanlon watched on as their mare Jeff Kidder became the biggest winner in 30 years at 80/1 in claiming the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle.

It didn’t stop there though as Mayo hotelier Barry Maloney, of Mount Falcon, saw his horse Minella Indo go and win one of the biggest races in the sport as he fended off pre-race favourites Al Boum Photo and A Plus Tard in winning the Gold Cup.

I cannot speak about the festival without also talking about Tipperary’s Rachael Blackmore, who won top jockey. It was a ground-breaking achievement as she became the first female jockey to win the Ruby Walsh Trophy. In addition, she was the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle, and was very unfortunate not to land the Gold Cup with A Plus Tard. Even early in the year, she must be a shoe-in for every Irish sportsperson of the year award going.

It’s been another festival to remember. Hopefully next year crowds will be back and I can watch the Gold Cup from the comfort of a barstool while letting our advertising manager Bernard Hughes know some of my tips do go well!

*You can read Stuart's full column every Tuesday in our print edition.