March 26th, 2020
Tralee Racecourse visit
THE planning permission notice is still framed on the wall of the Listowel road entrance to the racecourse.
You can read the details relating to the Ballybeggan Park landbank which was reputedly being sold for the Celtic Tiger sum of €47.5 million at the time. It includes plans for a 9,000-seated GAA pitch, a full-size training pitch, retail park, shopping centre, 38 three-bedroom houses, 26 two-bedroom houses, car parks and a childcare facility. It never got the green light as Kerry County Council knocked the plans.
The developers lost their deposit of €1 million due to a get-out clause but the racing industry lost much more due to its closure and Tralee racetrack was notched up as another sad loss following Phoenix Park, Tuam, Mullingar and Baldoyle into the annals of history. Tralee raced for the final time on October 1st, 2008 with the Francis Flood-trained and Aodhgan Conlon-ridden P’Tit Fute gaining the unwanted title of being the final winner at Ballybeggan Park.
Passing the stands on the second day of the festival in 2006/ Healy Racing.
History
This fact is an addition to an already over-bulging history of the venue which includes many greats of the game that graced the Tralee turf. Equine legends such as Dawn Run (Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle), Vintage Crop (Melbourne Cup), Desert King (Irish 2000 Guineas and Irish Derby), Monty’s Pass (Grand National), Alexandrova (Oaks and Irish Oaks) and Vintage Tipple (Irish Oaks) all galloped to success around here, while every personality from Aubrey Brabazon to Dermot Weld would have a story to tell.
The planning notice on the wall of the enterance to Tralee, closed after its final race meeting in October 2008/Healy Racing.
Dermot actually trained six winners on a day here and it was also the venue for a first training success for a young man called Aidan O’Brien when Wandering Thoughts won in June 1993 under jockey Pat Gilson.
Always run during the Rose Of Tralee Festival pageant, “The Rose” winner and contestants would arrive up the home straight in sponsored floats for a parade the afternoon after the competition was over. In its heyday, the Tralee Festival race meeting was even broadcast on RTE television and, like every other Festival, was a huge economic boost for the Kerry county town. Like all the Kerry meetings, the people in the industry loved Tralee and back when the road network was not anywhere as good as it is now, they would stay overnight.
Sure a night or two in the Kingdom was a mini-break for them. You would find the faces dining in Ballygarry House Hotel, The Oyster or The Tankard and afterwards having a few beers in pubs like The Brogue Inn, The Abbey or The Grand Hotel in town. The streets would be mobbed and, with the bars open until 2am; sure ‘twas a mighty craic.
Who can forget Lester’s visit in 1993 when during his comeback tour from retirement, “The Long Fellow” treated a sell-out crowd to a winner when steering home Caliandak for trainer John Oxx and owner the Aga Khan.
A view of the entrance to the racetrack /Healy Racing.
The Oxx magic also worked in 1998 when Frankie came to town to help celebrate the 100th year of racing at Ballybeggan and he steered home Allotrope to the delight of the Kerry crowd who rushed to the winner’s enclosure to witness the legendary flying dismount.
Listowel publican Nora Canty of the Shebeen Bar went down in folklore that day as she muscled past the security boys to lead in Allotrope with grooms John Hynes and Pascal Corrigan.
T’was a “woman of the match” performance from the then 55-year-old! When stopped by security she uttered the immortal line, “do you not know who I am, sure I’m representing His Highness!” (owner Sheikh Mohammed).
Bomb scare
Ballybeggan Park even had its own bomb scare when in 2007 the enclosures were evacuated with everyone hunted outside to the car parks as runners and riders were circling at the start for the opening contest of that year’s Festival.
Dawn Run and owner/rider Charmain Hill winning in Tralee / Healy Racing.
The hoax lasted for 45 minutes and after the authorities were happy that everything was safe the announcement was greeted with huge cheers and all the patrons were allowed back in. This meeting also produced one of the funniest tales from the weighroom.
A good few of the jump jockeys were holed up in the Grand Hotel for the few days and on waking up one morning Paul “Alice” Carberry was missing. After a ring around with no one knowing where he was, “Stormin” Norman Williamson rang him.
“Where are you?” asked Stormin. “Look out the window,” replied Carberry. There he was across the street sitting under a dryer in the hairdresser’s getting his hair dyed blonde à la the rapper Eminem!
That was all very fine until later in the day when during the feature race on the card, the Denny Gold Medal Chase both “Stormin” and “Alice” fought out the finish with “Stormin” getting Merry People home in front of “Alice” on Heist by a length.
A steward’s inquiry was subsequently called and the feeling was the result would stand and this was a rubber-stamping exercise. But the enquiry dragged on longer than everyone thought it would and, when finally announced, the result stood.
Frankie Dettori is cheered as he does his flying dismount from Allotrope in 1998 / Healy Racing
“What was the reason for the lengthy enquiry?” “Stormin” was asked by the press afterwards. “Carberry caused the delay,” he told them. “How come,” the press lads asked? “Because every time the stewards tried to get serious they all broke down laughing at the state of his hair.”
In America they call Santa Anita “The Great Race Place”, we had a “Great Race Place” here too and it was called Tralee.
Trainer John Oxx and Lester Piggott after they combined for success in 1993 /Healy Racing
A view of the stands and enclosures showing former director Paddy Barry . Tralee was closed after its final race meeting on October 1st 2008/Healy Racing.
P'tit Fute and Aodhagan Conlon win the final race held at the Co Kerry venue trained by Francis Flood for owners JRM Racing Syndicate /Healy Racing.