Tiger touches

the hearts

QUIZ question on the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show this week: Which horse won the 2019 Gold Cup – Al Boum Photo or Tiger Roll?

The answer given by the contestant was: Tiger Roll! He’s become so familiar he’s winning races he hasn’t run in. The little horse has captured the public imagination like no other since perhaps Hurricane Fly or the days of Danoli.

You would have to feel a bit sorry for Al Boum Photo. You win the greatest prize in chasing, give Willie Mullins a first win in the race after years of trying, but you just know you are not going to win an award!

It’s the same for Samcro – there was a trail of selfie-takers heading to his box at the beginning of the season. Now they are travelling for miles to see Tiger Roll.

Race planning

THE planning of the Irish race meetings over the last two weekends leaves a bit to be desired if HRI and RUK are working to help us see the most of the best meetings. The Leopardstown classic trials meeting on Saturday was lost on Racing TV, though they had a good team at the track in Niall Hannity and Fran Berry, placed against the Grand National meeting at Aintree. It should have been better suited to Sunday and the Fairyhouse meeting on the Saturday.

We have a clash tomorrow with a point-to-point and racemeeting in Dundalk. The same happened in Cork last Sunday. With five meetings on Racing TV today, surely switching the quality card at Naas to Sunday would have been a better option for all?

Jumping Justify

AIDAN O’Brien was decked out in his Justify jacket and baseball cap for his media morning in Ballydoyle. The 2018 Triple Crown winner is the go-to horse covering his first book of mares this season. What a book of Group 1 and Grade 1 winners. No pressure?

Imagine, Again, Marvellous, Moonlight Cloud, Simply Perfect, Peeping Fawn, Halfway To Heaven, Cabaret, Six Perfections, Alexandrova, Chicquita, Cassandra Go, Sky Lantern, Lillie Langtry, Was, as well as Meow and Hveger. It’s setting the bar very high!