As the final Irish rugby fans turned their backs on the weekend’s crushing loss to England, another group of sports enthusiasts was setting off promising victory. Ireland’s hopes of triumph at the forthcoming Cheltenham Festival are high, with experts predicting a ruthless comeback.
Irish trainers are expected to command the event once more. Willie Mullins could ensure that even the People’s Republic of Carlow sees more celebrations this week than England, Wales, and Scotland altogether. By merely matching his humble total of six winners from last year, Mullins is likely to mark his 100th Cheltenham triumph before the week’s end.
The unfavourable odds for England, Wales, and Scotland have raised eyebrows amidst the visiting delegation. Jonathan Mullin from Horse Racing Ireland has flagged the potential downfall of British racing as the leading risk to the Irish, ahead of Cheltenham 2024.
Though trainers and jockeys departing Dublin Airport on Monday aim to ramp up the rival nation’s misery this week, the more savvy Irish punters will focus on their primary adversary: the bookies, with even nationalism taking a backseat.
Amongst the punting army, few would be as prepared as Albert Reynolds Junior, son of a late former taoiseach, who was seen sipping a pint in a packed airport bar. Having spent nightly hours for months scrutinising racing footage and other data to highlight the likely winners, Reynolds Junior claims to dedicate his bedtime to this analysis, laptop in tow. And does this ensure victory over the bookmakers? He hesitantly admits that this meeting, in particular, is usually successful for him.
The Irish Times reminded him of Charlie McCreevy’s words, the former finance minister and festival regular who said that Cheltenham was the ultimate betting challenge because “they’re all trying here”.
Reynolds holds a strong conviction about the reliability of “the formbook”. With stakes sky-high, he asserts it provides all necessary information, as long as one knows how to decipher it. It is unsurprising given that his everyday profession involves stock trading. He affirms that it and horse racing are roughly similar, remarking, “Fundamentally, it’s a lengthy and risky venture.”
Alongside Reynolds at the pub were his sibling Philip, a horse trainer whose horse, Riann, can potentially triumph later in the week. Other company included Philip’s offspring Mark, their cousin Pat Lyster from Roscommon (a relative of Michael from RTÉ), and esteemed Galway GAA legend Barry Brennan.
A quick interaction occurred nearby with previous jockey and trainer Charlie Swan and his wife, Carol, who were in haste to board a plane. On querying about his best guess for the week, Swan chose a more reliable guess: “I believe it’ll be dominated by Willie Mullins, though JP McManus also possesses several strong contenders.”
Yet, the Swan family’s main interest this year is their son Harry, an amateur jockey of 21 who’ll participate in Thursday’s last race, the Kim Muir. His mother mentions how he is passionate about racing, but is also sensibly investing in his career, thanks to a degree in biological and biomedical science at Trinity College.
Albert Reynolds Junior has made an appearance at every Cheltenham since 1989. He recollects this tradition started when his father covered his costs for the trip, citing his status of being “a moneyless student”. That year, Ireland notably failed to achieve a single victory. It was considered a rarity, considering just a year or two earlier, solely Galmoy had narrowly prevented a complete loss for the visiting team.
This year, predictions suggest as many as 20 victories for Ireland, with half of them possibly credited to the training by Willie Mullins. In honour of Maureen Mullins, his late mother and a member of the Mullins lineage, the inaugural day of Tuesday’s race event will pay tribute to her. She passed away recently at 94.
In a customary manner of honouring well-known personalities, the National Hunt Chase will be momentarily rechristened in her memory. This contest stretches over a gruelling distance of nearly four miles. Tony, one of Maureen’s children and also a coach, asserted that it’s a fitting tribute for “a formidable endurer”.
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