It’s all very well thinking about Ted drinking tea and watching hurling while being chased by a horse-sized duck but we’re not paying our TV licence fees, either on-line or at our nearest Post Office, so that we can use our own imaginations.

There wasn’t a lot happening on Topaz Tuesday as it was termed by the alliteration king Brian Gleeson. There was another not-so-subtle plug for EasyFix but no plug at all for the builders of the castle in the in-field. “There’s a lot of history around these parts,” stated Robert Hall.

We were told that the Weldometer (or is that Weldometre?) sparked into life after the programme finished on Monday. Just in case we didn’t believe that statement, we were shown the final stages of the race and also that of the bumper, Tom Mullins not getting the screentime of brother Willie.

Jacksonslady, winner of the first chase at the 2014 Festival, was described by Walsh as a “right, good, tough mare’’. However, he was more taken by the performance of the other mare in the race, Cailin Annamh, who was only beaten a head into second.

Bidding to give Robert Power a quick double, following his win on Shield in the opener, the six-year-old was making eye-catching progress when Ted felt she was hampered by a horse in front of her at the last. “She landed right up his arse,” he opined.

FOOTBALL

Brian asked bookmaker John Mulholland for his opinion on Sunday’s all-Ireland football quarter final between Galway and Kerry. Hardly a fair question given John’s family association with the Tribes’ team and it wasn’t surprising to hear he would be travelling to Croke Park tomorrow instead of standing at Ballybrit.

Walsh and Hall Robert discussed the shoe that British raider Volume wasn’t permitted to wear in the Oaks, Ted explaining how the farriers on duty had to file off the offending ‘trailer’ when trainer Luca Cumani objected to her being re-shod. This was the kind of subject we like having viewed, horseshoes being of more interest to the stay-at-home punter than Jimmy Choos. After all, for the want of a shoe...

Gary Halpin was one of two apprentices interviewed by Tracy Piggott before the featured Topaz Handicap which he won on the Kevin Prendergast-trained Vastonea. What a beautiful horse! Turning out greys for any equestrian discipline is not easy but if there’s one yard that can do it it’s Prendergast’s – the ladies will be hard pressed to look better than Vastonea come Thursday.

“Kevin’s on the wrong side of 80,” said Ted reminding us that the trainer, who has held a licence since 1963, was also a wonderful amateur rider. So too was Walsh who may have been sending out a signal to his own wife Helen when speaking of Kevin’s better half. “He’s got a good wife in Lesley, she looks after him well.”

A short interview with Team Ireland’s senior show jumping team manager Robert Splaine regarding his squad selection for the Aga Khan trophy also allowed Robert to plug next week’s three-day coverage of the Dublin Horse Show.