Andy Warhol glibly talked of everyone experiencing 15 minutes of fame, but for Jim Balfry and the 23 other members of the Sport Racing Club, it's currently two weeks and counting.

The counting element is because in the chestnut racehorse Micko's Dream, they own one of the favourites for today's Martell Grand National. And there is also "the story".

Take for instance the reaction of this newspaper's Sports Fuhrer. "Twenty-four prison officers? And they own Micko's Dream? Yeah, that'll be okay," he said. This from a man who described the last five minutes of last year's European Cup final as "kinda exciting".

A similarly enthusiastic response to "the story" has emerged from almost every media sports desk in these islands. But if, and according to the bookies it's not that great an if, Micko's Dream goes and wins the world's most famous race, the media attention up to now will in comparison have been the clamour of a couple of gnats.

However, ask Balfry, the syndicate spokesman, if the build-up to the National has been a blast or just painful and you get a reply that speaks volumes for his ability to cope with just such a possibility.

"It's been a painful blast," he says with the balance of a gymnast. "If he wins, it's a great story and without wishing to sound too biased, he has a great chance," Balfry adds.

If he sounds smooth, it's because the Limerick-born, Portlaoise-based prison officer has done little else but do interviews recently. "BBC, Claire Balding seemed nice," he recites. "Sky News, a guy from the Daily Telegraph and at least 10 other papers on the phone."

Balfry is thinking of allowing someone else to be spokesman next year. At least there will be a big pick. The 24 members work throughout the country in Cork, Wheatfield, Castlerea, the Curragh, Shelton Abbey in Wicklow and Portlaoise prisons, and were brought together by an advertisement in the prison officer magazine five years ago.

The young Micko's Dream was bought for £17,000 and subsequently named after the Cork-based prison officer Mick O'Hehir, who sadly died before the horse ran. His fascination with the new acquisition however meant the horse was named after him, and O'Hehir's widow, Elsie, retains his share.

Since then, Micko's Dream has won almost £108,000 and taken his owners far beyond their original dream of maybe getting a horse that might sneak a small race and pull a betting stroke at the same time.

Instead, 100 people flew to Liverpool yesterday in hope of cheering the Willie Mullins-trained runner to a famous success.

A feature of "the story" so far is the almost cosy way the syndicate members' jobs have been portrayed with the prisoners reportedly betting their cigarette allocations on Micko's Dream to win.

Admittedly, Balfry doesn't offer bloodthirsty tales of taming syringe wielding maniacs - "the real heavy metal stuff is in Mountjoy" - but he does concede that cosy is not an appropriate word to describe the day-today routine of his job.

"There is a bit of a pressure-cooker atmosphere sometimes but things are not as bad as they were a few years ago with the whole political situation now," says Balfry who in common with most of the syndicate members has no history or family links with racing, just a long time avid interest.

"We're all agog with this really. I'd say most of us won't be able to sleep the night before," says Balfry whose own first memory of the Grand National is the Foinavaon pile up in 1967. It's an evocative piece of history that makes him appreciate Micko's Dream even more.

"We're never going to see the likes of this again, unless he wins two or three!" Balfry grins. "But he's in with a real chance. He's a classy individual to just have 10.10 on his back. And Willie Mullins is very bullish."

Mullins, normally forthright but unlikely to talk up a horse's chance, does indeed seem to think a lot of his horse's chance even though the ground at Liverpool is drying out all the time.

"He's a super mover and I don't think the ground will be a problem. The National track is fairly spongy and rarely gets very firm," the trainer said during the week.

"I'm much more worried about keeping out of trouble and getting around. If you can get around, you have a chance."

In the Grand National, a chance is all anyone can realistically ask for whether you're an owner or one of the millions investing a pound. That has always been the magic of the race. Pressure Balfry and he puts forward Red Marauder and Kendall Cavalier as dangers but even if Micko's Dream doesn't win he has already had a seismic effect on many people's lives.

"Because of him we've got another horse in training with Paul Nolan and we've a yearling too," Balfry says. "The whole thing is mushrooming. At this stage, we could do with a National win!" Further evidence that one good horse and one great race can change everything. And not just for 15 minutes either.