New grandstand: Today is the Saturday before the Punchestown festival. On the front page, Valentine Lamb writes with good news. On Wednesday, a new grandstand is opened. The Managing Editor tells racegoers that the “muck of quagmire” that was once Punchestown has now been replaced by “a most magnificent stand, 300 feet long, with a 7,000 capacity, that along, with nearby facilities, cost nearly £750,000.”

Lamb points out that “it (Punchestown) took sixty years to realise that the twentieth century had arrived” referring to the 1960 construction of a “normal” steeplechase course, whereas all previous races were run over the banks. A hurdle course followed the following year.

But now Lamb raises the possibility of Punchestown staging a festival to rival Cheltenham and Liverpool. There are two drawbacks to this, he points out; one is that British trainers do not have great enthusiasm to have runners in Ireland, mainly because prize money in Britain is higher; second, the Punchestown festival comes late in the National Hunt season.

Lamb concludes with the welcome announcement that “Punchestown has arrived in the eighties on time” and adds that the “Racing Board is also turning its attentions to Fairyhouse where a similar scheme is in the pipeline.”

Pages 30 and 31 today have cards for next week’s three-day festival (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) as well as two photos showing the “old” and “new” grandstand.

Doping probe: One important piece of news is inside the paper at the beginning of the racing section. Dave Baker writes with news of an announcement, made on Thursday, that the Governing Bodies will, next Monday, commence inquiries “into the discovery of a number of prohibited substances in tests taken from recent winners”.

Baker adds that no details are forthcoming until after that inquiry, and he has heard rumours that over a dozen cases are involved. He adds that the “badinage” currently doing the rounds “hardly serves the cause of Irish racing.” But he is worried over the fact that he understands that trainers have not been supplied with a copy of affected samples. This would make it harder for trainers to defend themselves and make it harder to bring any possible legal action against feed manufacturers and/or suppliers.

Doyle double: Naas is the venue for racing last Saturday where the going is good. Trainer Paul Doyle has a double, including in the day’s feature event. The Celbridge Handicap is worth £2,637, and is won by Kudu King at 8/1, ridden by Dermot Hogan. His other winner is On The Road, who wins the juvenile fillies’ race, ridden by Paul McCormack.

High Simbir, a five-year-old by Simbir, repeats last year’s success in division one of the apprentice race, ridden today by Pat Shanahan. Division two goes to 2/1 favourite Dellersbeck, trained by Dessie Hughes, the only winning favourite today.

Trainer Adrian Maxwell and jockey Tony Murray team up to win the Clondalkin Race with the filly, When The Saints, a 20/1 winner for owner Major Victor McCalmont.

Disqualified: It’s a mixed day for Wally Swinburn. He wins the Lucan race on Light Here for the Liam Browne yard. Later he finishes first past the post in the concluding maiden but is disqualified.

In this race, reporter Dave Baker states that March Hywel will almost certainly be the unluckiest horse of the season. Baker writes that the 2/1 favourite is impeded four times in the final seven furlongs of the mile and a half race. Among the offenders is Ramian, ridden by Wally Swinburn. He passes the post half a length ahead of Northern Sky, with March Hywel a neck back in third.

The stewards’ inquiry takes nearly half an hour. Ramian is disqualified and placed last; the stewards declare Northern Sky innocent, so he is the winner. March Hywel is placed second. Northern Sky is a 50/1 winner, trained by Con Collins, and ridden by Rory Hogan.

Non-runner fiasco: Roscommon hosts a National Hunt card on Monday afternoon, where the going is good.

For this meeting, the declarations have to be made on Friday morning. Reporter Tony O’Hehir points out that 85 horses have already been eliminated by balloting and over today’s seven races, there are 25 non-runners.

The Roscommon stewards issue a statement, and O’Hehir writes that they are disappointed with the number of absentees: “In view of the practical difficulties (reads the stewards’ statement) of interviewing and requesting veterinary certificates from such a large number of trainers they decided, with certain exceptions, to accept the explanations offered. They did, however, strongly recommend to the stewards of the INHS Committee that a system of compulsory veterinary certificates and mandatory fines and possibly a system of reserves be introduced as a matter of urgency.”

First winner: One happy trainer today is Edward Byrne, of Clonroche, who has his first winner when Mr Mysterious wins division one of the handicap hurdle in the hands of Michael Furlong at 10/1. The jockey misses out on a double by three lengths by finishing second in division two, won by Peace Walk and Bob Townend.

Thomas Kinane junior wins the novice chase on 7/2 joint-favourite Raisonne. The Dessie Hughes stable has another winner when Mayotte takes the five-year-old bumper at 10/1. Racing concludes with a six-year-old bumper, which is won by Tony Mullins on 20/1 winner Collossal Gamble, trained by his father Paddy.

The Tote aggregate is a course record £43,959.

TV coverage: What’s on TV? Racing on television this week starts today Saturday with ITV showing three races from Newcastle, and three from Sandown. The BBC will broadcast four from Leicester.

RTÉ will pick up from both channels’ feeds, and show three from Sandown, and two races from Leicester.

RTÉ cameras will be at the Punchestown Festival on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and four races will be broadcast live each day. Commentators are Michael O’Hehir and Tony Sweeney.

New members: The Turf Club has three new members: Michael Osborne, manager of the Irish National Stud; Mr Justice Frank Roe, amateur rider and well-known owner; and Professor Michael McCormac.

British scene: Jonathan Powell’s weekly report is on page four. Last Saturday, at Newbury, the Greenham Stakes is run. All eyes are Monteverdi, from the Vincent O’Brien stable. Despite defeat at the Phoenix Park a fortnight earlier, Monteverdi is 8/13 favourite. But he and Lester Piggott are beaten half a length by Final Straw, with Posse in third.

Powell writes that, later on in the week, news from Ballydoyle is that Monteverdi will not run in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket next Saturday. He adds: “the group of American breeders who forked out three million dollars for a quarter share in Monteverdi earlier this year must surely regret that decision.”

Derby dreams: Desmond Stoneham writes about Julius Caesar. The grey, by Exbury, wins the Prix Noailles at Longchamp last Sunday, and now goes to Epsom for the Derby. The colt is trained by Serge Boullenger.

On Tuesday, Stoneham goes to Chantilly and meets trainer Alec Head. On the gallops, they watch Nureyev in his final serious gallop before his tilt at the 2000 Guineas. Jockey Phillippe Paquet says afterwards: “I have never ridden anything like this.”

Elsewhere in the paper, Neville Ring thinks that “it is hard to see Nureyev getting beaten next weekend”, especially when Monteverdi is declared a non-runner.

Jockey woes: Regular contributor Madeleine O’Neill writes an article in her “Looking Back” series. This week is the topic of the finances of jockeys in the distant past. She writes about John Singleton, champion jockey, whose career included winning the first ever St Leger in 1776. He lived to his nineties, but died in a work house!

Todd triumphs: Averil Douglas reports from Badminton. The Badminton three-day event is won by a young New Zealander, 24-year-old Mark Todd, riding Southern Comfort. They score 64.60 in dressage and finish the show jumping on the same mark. In second, only two points behind, is Lucinda Prior-Palmer on Killaire, who misses out on a fifth Badminton title by only a foot in the water jump during the show jumping.

The best of the Irish is Mrs Jessica Harrington, riding Amoy, who finishes in 15th place. On the other hand, Helen Cantillon falls off Wing Forward and ends up in hospital with suspected concussion and a badly bruised face!

Afterwards Todd tells Douglas that both Southern Comfort and his other horse, Joe Casta, are for sale to fund his European trip. Todd is now based in Newbury. He also clarifies that Southern Comfort was bred in North Island, New Zealand, and not in Northern Ireland.

For winning Badminton, Todd gets £2,000 plus the Whitbread Trophy.