SUNDAY, MARCH 13TH

Navan, Limerick, Lingstown, Kilworth, Belclare, Horse And Jockey

TODAY is one of our busiest days of the year with two race meetings and four point-to-points to be covered. On a day like today, you are always hoping that all goes well for the team. Adding to the mix, my son Jack (18) and Liam’s son Sean (12) are covering Horse And Jockey, their first meeting on their own. Aunty Cathy drives them and fair play to the two of them, they do a fantastic job.

I tell them they have it easy, as back in the day ‘The Boss’ would have to drop us off to the point-to-point on his way to the races, meaning you had a three or four hour wait ahead of the first race, and the same after the last waiting to be collected. John Ellard and Noel Breen cover Lingstown, Jane Hurley and Paul Porter are in Kilworth, Liam trips up to Belclare, while Kevin looks after Limerick and I am on Navan duty.

After racing, I manage to get back to the office for 9pm, I tidy up the loose ends from the day, ahead of packing the bag for tomorrow.

MONDAY, MARCH 14TH

Cheltenham

Cheltenham fever started earlier then normal this year when Joanne was invited by the track to parade Pady (Forpadytheplasterer) a few weeks back in the ex-racehorse to riding show, before racing on Tuesday. It’s a great compliment for Pady, who won the Arkle Chase when trained by Tom Cooper back in 2009 and of course for Joanne, who has won the racehorse to riding class in the RDS for the last three years, – two on Pady and one on ex RSA Chase winner Cooldine.

Roisin Fitzpatrick accompanied Joanne on the trip and I dropped the girls to the docks on Saturday night, where they hooked up with box driver Kirsten Reed and Rosemary and Claire Connors, who are bringing over Sizing Europe. The girls caught the 2am boat and they had a long trip, before landing in at 11am.

Meanwhile I fly out of Cork Airport on Monday with bookmakers, Berkie Browne, Spike Murphy and Barney McMahon for the 12am Aer Lingus ironbird to Heathrow, where we pick up a car and head to the Cotswolds. We are staying in Charlton Kings, renting the same house for the past few years and after having a few hours to relax, I head along to The Ellenborough Lodge Hotel with JQ and Berkie for owner Rich Ricci’s pre-festival party.

TUESDAY, MARCH 15TH

Cheltenham

The racecourse has a new media centre this year, just behind the weighroom and it is magnificent. It is the width of a sublime Gooch Cooper Croke Park defence, splitting pass with toilets, sandwich bar and lightening fast internet. With 70 photographers all uploading pictures at the same time, it is important for us to be getting our images away between races.

Liam and I are covering the meeting this year and we split it up, so Liam shoots the last jump before heading to the winner’s enclosure and I shoot the winning line and winner’s enclosure. Thankfully today is nice and dry and we put a great package together, highlighted by the success of Annie Power in the Champion Hurdle.

I like to shoot the horse and jockey after they pull up. with the Cheltenham stands in the background and this means I have a few words with the winning rider before anyone else. Some of the reactions from these great men are brilliantly entertaining and no more so today when Ruby pulled up. As I congratulate him he blurts out: “They can put that in their f****** pipe and smoke it.” I have never photographed him so animated. It showed what this win meant to the great jockey, after her last hurdle fall last year.

The crowd today was a record for the first day with 67,770 enjoying the racing and would you believe, the public bars alone on the track took £1.2 million from the thirsty punters. The management here has invested nearly £50 million in the new facilities and with days like this they wont be long paying it back.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16TH

Cheltenham

I’m a lucky man (as JQ reminds me every day!) in that I love what I do. All the miles travelled every year, about 50,000, from the smaller meetings to the point-to-points, I love them all and being involved in this great game is a privilege.

Once in a while you are witness to something special and today is one of those days, with Sprinter Sacre winning the Queen Mother. The roar that lifted the stand when he hit the front three out, when he cleared the second last and lads, when he jumped the last fence safely, it was purely orgasmic. The reception he got on his journey to the winner’s enclosure and all the way to when he made his exit was unbelievable and it all made for fantastic images.

THURSDAY, MARCH 17TH

Cheltenham

It was another brilliant day weather-wise and with six Irish wins on the card it is a special day. Again it’s the Mullins team and Ruby who steal the show with a treble, meaning Ruby bagged his 50th festival win when Black Hercules romped home, Vautour is number 51 and they seem to have found another star mare in Limini, when she wins on the steal. I have to laugh when I get to them for the picture, Ruby is so relaxed and content with life, he is singing at the top of his voice: “I’ve been a wild rover for many a year, and I’ve spent all my money on whiskey and beer.”

With the Tattersalls Sale this evening, it is after 9pm when I leave the track and in the darkness I can hear the disco noise coming from the Bacardi’s tent down in the shopping village. I always take a vow of abstinence for the festival and after a long day it’s hard not to give in to temptation. I promise myself a gallon when I get back to the Kingdom and I head back to the house where Spike has cooked us a steak for the dinner.

BACK HOME

With the election success of the Healy Rae brothers, Michael and Danny, I have been asked countless times are we related. Not that I am aware of, is the answer and I have to say that I probably wouldn’t be in the same league intelligence-wise either! Two fine smart boys, fair play to them, and sure they didn’t lick it off the ground with Jackie being their father.

All this reminds me of the story about Jackie’s mare, Peig, who was stolen a few years back. Every guard in the county had one eye over every ditch for her and after a few days she was found outside Listowel in Dirra Bog. The Sergeant in Killarney put the call through to Jackie in the Dail to tell him the great news, which he relayed to his fellow Dail members around him and in turn was greeted by huge cheers.

Later on, while being interviewed on Kerry radio, Jackie was asked what his fellow Dail members had to say about the matter, to which Jackie proudly boasted: “They said Christ, imagine if you owned Shergar, Jackie.”

Pat Healy is a member of Ireland’s leading family of racing photographers