It was a black day for the Irish in Cheltenham today when two horses were put down after the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase.
The Willie Mullins-trained Scotsirish and Enda Bolger-trained Garde Champetre both sustained fatal injuries in the race that has been won by an Irish horse since it started in 2005.
That was not the case today and the thousands of Irish supporters at the course in Gloucestershire had to wait until the sixth race to see the only Irish-trained winner of the day - Ruby Walsh's mount Quevega in the OLBG Mare's Hurdle Race.
It was the fourth time the Willie Mullins-trained mare won the race and her owners, the Hammer and Trowel syndicate were in ebullient form in the winners' enclosure.
A Ruby did win the Champion Hurdle, but unfortunately for Hurricane Fly fans, it wasn't Ruby Walsh.
Rock on Ruby was the surprise winner of the race that had been won by Hurricane Fly last year. Trainer Willie Mullins was philosophical about it.
"He was beaten by two better horses on the day. We knew this day was going to come. You can't keep winning,” he said. Maybe he just didn't fire and something will come to light next week. I'm disappointed but we live to fight another day and we'll go ahead to Punchestown I think. We still have a horse and we'll have other days, I hope."
There was no joy either for Tally Em Up, the Philip Rothwell-trained horse that ran in the colours of RTE broadcaster Colm Murray, after his own horse was withdrawn. He came in fifth but his trainer said he ran a good race. "Maybe Colm brought us luck," he said.
Earlier today, jockeys including Davy Russell and Paul Townend gave Horse Racing Ireland a boost when they took part in an initiative to encourage more race goers from the UK to attend race meetings in Ireland.
Organisers of the four-day racing festival expect the numbers travelling from Ireland to be similar to last year – about 15,000 – but others are predicting even higher numbers.
Ryanair said strong early bookings topped pre-recession levels. It added 64 flights to East Midlands, Birmingham and Bristol airports this week compared to just 40 extra last year. It said it would carry more than 12,000 Cheltenham-bound passengers this week.
