You couldn't swing a designer handbag without hitting a politician, on a day when punters had their revenge on the bookies, writes RÓISÍN INGLEat the Galway Races
THE MAN THEY call the specialist, Dermot Weld, had another popular win at the Galway Races yesterday with Universal Truth, one of several favourites who romped home to victory to the annoyance of the bookies.
And it’s a truth universally acknowledged that wherever large crowds and horses gather, you won’t be able to swing a designer handbag without hitting a politician. Former taoiseach Albert Reynolds was at Ballybrit yesterday. Taoiseach Brian Cowen turned up to mumble at journalists and press the flesh. Bertie Ahern stood outside the press tent in the drizzle to watch a race. And Michael D Higgins, in a break from studying the form, had a little something to say about whether he was or was not going to run for president.
“All I can tell you is that it’s gone from consideration to deeper consideration, and I will be making an announcement in September,” he said. He was hoping to spot his party leader, Eamon Gilmore, around the place but he confirmed that there was no Labour tent available for socialist socialising. The Fianna Fáil fundraising tent is long gone and the numbers of helicopters bearing champagne quaffing builders are also way down. “I’d say they miss their aul’ tent,” said Michael D with a smile.
Another Universal Galway Races Truth: You’ll spot plenty of hats here tall enough to pick up Sky News because turning heads is the modus operandi of most women at Ballybrit. Lystra Adams was the hands-down winner of that particular contest on day two.
“What’s Naomi Campbell doing at the races?” pondered one local who couldn’t keep his eyes off the striking English- by-way-of-South-America woman. Their confusion was understandable. Lystra is a professional Naomi Campbell lookalike and a woman who dresses to distract. She was here to support her partner, David Fox, who owns Invisible Man, the horse that romped home in the second race. They sipped pink champagne in a half-full champagne tent afterwards with their nine-year-old daughter Jasmine, who looked especially pretty in pink. There appeared to be enough €110 bottles of champagne nestling in ice buckets around the tent to suggest the Galway Races is pretty much recession-proof.
In honour of the winner of the second race, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan seemed to be performing an invisible woman act. Race course manager John Maloney swore he spotted her arriving, but there were no other sightings of her.
Ah well, at least former taoiseach Albert Reynolds was happy to chat about a place clearly dear to his heart. “Guess how many years I’ve been coming here?” he asked. “Forty-one, and in that time I’ve only missed one meeting.” He kept chatting long after most journalists had moved to the entrance, where Brian Cowen was expected at any minute. Reynolds remarked that he never liked the Fianna Fáil tent: “You’d go in there and you’d never get out.”
We explained we had to go to hunt down Brian Cowen, to which Reynolds said: “Tell him I’m over here.”
But the current Taoiseach wasn’t in a talkative mood, at least not with journalists, when he arrived at around 6pm. Was he going on holidays? “Haven’t sorted it out yet, somewhere local,” he mumbled – or, at least, we think that’s what he said. Was he feeling lucky? “Haven’t studied the form,” he said obviously desperate to escape. Fianna Fáil supporter Sharon Keogan came over to give him a tip. Slievecorragh in the 6.20. “Make sure you have Nama on it,” she told him. Let’s hope, for all our sakes, he ignored her – naturally, the horse lost.
As usual it was the punters in dresses, accessorised with goosebumps, who contributed most to the country wedding/festival atmosphere. Sisters Joanne, Sarah, Mary, and Liz Skelly (who is six months pregnant) from Scariff in Co Clare were making it a family day out – although they left their other three sisters at home. Joanne was wearing an outfit from Joanne’s, her shop in Killaloe, as were the rest of her clan. Their friends, also sisters, Jackie Ward and Sinead Purcell, also from Co Clare, are Galway Races addicts.
“I’ve been going every year for 15 years – I love the style. It’s a great chance to dress up,” said Sinead, who won the best hat competition last year – and a trip to Boston. She came from South Africa to attend. Now that’s dedication.
The place was coming down with sisters. Ann O’Connor and Joan Taaffe from Limerick and Co Clare come every year. It was Ann’s 40th year at the races – she could have swapped notes with Albert. Her daughter Geraldine Kenny said her mother gambled every day. Ann confessed to spending €16 a day on a Lucky 15 and a place accumulator. “I always get my money back,” she explained.
It wasn’t a good day for the bookmakers, with favourite after favourite coming up trumps for the punters.
“It’s a black day for us,” said bookmaker John Mulholland, twice former mayor of Galway. With two races to go he said his bag was full of more fivers and tenners than fifties. “The punters had a bad day on Monday, now it’s their day and they are getting some of their money back.”
Watching from the sidelines was champion jockey Ruby Walsh, who is injured but hoping to be back in the saddle by mid-August. “It’s not as much fun,” he said, a wistful look in his eyes.
