John Mulhern, chairman of Leopardstown's sponsorship committee, announced a new look to the final session of the Christmas meeting, which is to be aimed at the farming community and has been titled Agri-Awareness Day. The major sponsor on the day is Allied Irish Banks, with a £20,000 Festival Hurdle over two miles, and by the end of this week a full list of sponsors will have signed up for the supporting card. This will bring the prizemoney on offer over Christmas there to a record £405,000, with the richest-ever Leopardstown steeplechase, the £105,000 Paddy Power Chase, topping Saturday's card.
John White, the course manager, said that he was widening the marketing emphasis on TV and billboards to take in not merely Christmas but also three early new year meetings there, highlighted by the Ladbroke Hurdle (Jan 10th), the AIG Europe Champion Hurdle (Jan 25th) and the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup (Feb 8th).
Leopardstown is itself undergoing a facelift, phase one of which is just being completed. After Christmas, the building of a new pavilion with seating for 2,000 will start so as to be ready by September.
One aspect of the Christmas and New Year meetings that is outside the executive's control is accessibility, with the major road development proceeding at a leisurely pace. The chairman, Denis McCarthy, reported that they had been in dialogue with the Garda to see how traffic flow could be improved. Jessica Harrington's Pretty Beat Up looks a live bottom weight in the Donaghmore Handicap at Fairyhouse this afternoon. Carrying the colours of Ron Wood, she drops back in distance from seven furlongs to six after leading for this trip at Leopardstown last month.
Even after being headed, she struggled on well to finish fourth to Shauna's Honey. If she shows the same dash now, she could lead from start to finish in the hands of her apprentice partner.
John Oxx produced a smart juvenile winner for Sheikh Mohammed at Leopardstown in the shape of Outspoken, who had been working well and, who despite showing signs of inexperience, flew home up the straight.
The same team have Specialist in the Kilbride Maiden, where it is quite extraordinary to find a contest of this sort without an Aidan O'Brien runner.
Buddy Marvel started his threeyear-old career by beating Akdariya and Family Tradition in the Avonmore Classic Trial at Gowran Park, and while he never actually ran in a Classic, his overall form was good enough to mark him out as one that could go a long way over hurdles.
He makes his jumping debut in the Ward Maiden Hurdle and if he is Triumph Hurdle material, he should win.
Tailpiece: Reporting attendances up by 7,000 at Leopardstown so far this year, John White said that his target was 200,000 in the year 2000!
