The Snow and The Spring
2018 will be remembered for The Beast From The East cold weather front that brought snow and Siberian conditions to Ireland and the UK. It was business as usual at Cullentra though in the lead up to Cheltenham. The staff worked all night to have the gallops cleared of snow and ice so the horses could work in the mornings. This indomitable spirit from the Gordon Elliott Racing team brought them the rewards they got at Cheltenham. Gordon trained 8 winners to take the leading trainer award and Davy Russell (who was being criticised for his ride on Bettatogether at Fairyhouse by some club members but more on that later) was the leading jockey of the festival with 4 winners. Jack Kennedy had 4 winners for Gordon but was narrowly beaten by Davy on the number of second places. Fantastic week for everyone connected with the yard, probably owner Michael O'Leary most of all.
Dean Walker who runs the racing club had to post a strongly worded reprimand after some members got a bit carried away following the Bettatogether run at Fairyhouse. There was at least one complaint about how many horses had run this year which I thought was unfair as we had a runner every 2 weeks in January and February and would have had more only Fairy Flute was lame at the start in Wolverhampton. I know before I joined in the last quarter of the year there were no runners but Dean said they won't just run horses for the sake of it, they have to be ready. There was also some swearing apparently which I didn't see and a warning that any more behaviour like that would result in members being expelled.
After the highs of Cheltenham, Gordon and the team return home triumphant and back to work tomorrow with a new club horse Colonel Maximus running at Wexford. Shirleys Gold Well has an entry for the St. Patricks Day meeting at Down Royal rescheduled for Monday 19th but declarations aren't until Sunday so not a definite runner.
Dean Walker who runs the racing club had to post a strongly worded reprimand after some members got a bit carried away following the Bettatogether run at Fairyhouse. There was at least one complaint about how many horses had run this year which I thought was unfair as we had a runner every 2 weeks in January and February and would have had more only Fairy Flute was lame at the start in Wolverhampton. I know before I joined in the last quarter of the year there were no runners but Dean said they won't just run horses for the sake of it, they have to be ready. There was also some swearing apparently which I didn't see and a warning that any more behaviour like that would result in members being expelled.
After the highs of Cheltenham, Gordon and the team return home triumphant and back to work tomorrow with a new club horse Colonel Maximus running at Wexford. Shirleys Gold Well has an entry for the St. Patricks Day meeting at Down Royal rescheduled for Monday 19th but declarations aren't until Sunday so not a definite runner.
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