‘IT all comes down to this’ is the slogan on the advertising to pull Irish Champions Festival together. What did it come down to is the question.

In his Sporting Life column’s summary of the day, British journalist Graham Cunningham wrote “It all comes down to one savage, striking surge that seals the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes for Delacroix.” That may have been the highlight, but it really wasn’t enough to pull in a big crowd.

I arrived at 1pm, no issues getting in close and there was a decent attendance. This should build up nicely to the big race was the thought but, although it did get busier, the betting ring never looked very full - even by 5.30pm.

It was a bit alarming at first to see no covered bar marquee given the forecast wasn’t great and, with it more exposed, it maybe took away from the overall feel of a big event setting. Reports were that the after-race band on the open stage did keep a crowd there after racing.

There was a reported 11,354 at Leopardstown on Saturday, the figure was 10,155 last year and 10,010 the previous year in 2023. The reported increase didn’t manifest itself in the betting figures, for a pretty much similar card.

The Saturday of the DRF had a ‘ticket only’ 18,300 present. The first two years of the ICF had over 13,000 attending on the first day. Certainly, the Saturday just felt a bit lower key than you would expect, if ‘this’ is our biggest day and one to set as an “on the world stage” event, that some in racing were proclaiming.

While there was barely standing room in the stand to cheer home Galopin Des Champs in February, it was very easy to find a spot and get up and down now.

The Racing Hall had a small crowd. You could get food quickly, but a tray of chips with a large dollop of garlic mayonnaise and sprinkling of grated cheese wouldn’t take anyone long to serve up and was hardly ‘Champions’ quality.

The Champions Bar too, often like negotiating the start of the Grand National on the big jumping days, was an easy passage through. Even the top tier of the grandstand had plenty of empty seats.

The Paddy Power shop was full and it’s quite amusing hearing the gang shouting G’wan, g’wan, g’wan when the horse they are shouting on is... Gewan.

The problem with Leopardstown for a summer meeting, if you want more activities to entertain, is available space. The compactness and ease to get from stands to parade ring is fine in the winter when weather is poor. But it doesn’t lend itself to much extra in outdoor activities.

By all accounts, the JockeyCam interactive experience was good fun, Emmet McNamara and Greg O’Shea were enjoying it on Saturday, but it was away in the back - nothing in the racecard to really attract people to it or explain. It should have had someone on track offering the experience, letting people see the fun.

The Curragh just about got lucky with the weather, and they have made good efforts and there was more to engage. The JockeyCam was more prominent, the EBF ‘grab a grand’ was good, and a better buzz. Adding TV/celebrity promoters is aways debatable, but Greg O’Shea also got a thumbs-up from those there.

There was a good range of winners, a good representation from across the water on both days, the right horses won, Delacroix got a healthy reception. He showed himself off well to his admirers. And it was fairly easy to get in to see him along the winner’s enclosure.

A typical comment was the “atmosphere was pleasant without ever feeling there was a buzz of excitement”.

Johnny Murtagh in his interview in this paper last week said we must shout more about the horses, but it’s easier speaking as a ‘converted’ person from the inside out. Delacroix was the star, but even if we had big posters down the M50 saying ‘Come see Delacroix’, would it improve attendance?

Can we pull in more people, on a now sport-free weekend in September, to have fun at the races? “Build it and they will come” is another of those generic advertising slogans. Irish Champions Festival has been 10 years in existence now and it seems more like it has just stalled in the public consciousness and “It is what it is” might be a more accurate phrase.