Sir, - The Joseph R O’Reilly Hunters Chase, run on the final day of the recent Fairyhouse festival, commemorates the honorary secretary of the Ward Union Hunt race meeting, who retired in 1910 after 28 years’ service.

Inaugurated in 1934 and run for every year since, the Joseph R. O’Reilly Hunters Chase can seldom have generated more heat or less light than this year’s renewal.

The fun and games began with an ill-advised column by racing writer David Ashforth who sought to amuse by comparing Lady Jane Gillespie, owner and trainer of Faith Keeper, with Jack the Ripper. The piece said more about him than about his understandably upset victim.

Faith Keeper was down to be ridden by Mr S Kavanagh, claiming 7lb. Immediately above Faith Keeper on that Fairyhouse card was Dante’s King, owned by my wife Antoinette Kavanagh and down to be ridden by our son Roderic, likewise entitled to the 7lb allowance. Despite standing 6’ 4” in his stockinged feet, Roderic had managed to bring Dante’s King home in front in two of the four point-to-points they had contested, being placed in the others.

As soon as the entries were published on Good Friday young Roderic realised that he would struggle to claim his full allowance, indicating his intention to ride at 2lb overweight, the maximum permitted nowadays. Quite why such stringency should be deemed applicable to those who ride their own horses for the sheer thrill, excitement and occasional satisfaction is not easy to fathom. While its validity is obvious in professional races likely to generate substantial volumes of public money being wagered on the outcome, its relevance to Corinthian contests such as the Joseph R. O’Reilly Hunters Chase must be at least open to question, if not downright ridiculous.

But then we live in a ludicrous age, as the Fairyhouse stewards demonstrated when summoning the hapless young Roderic before them to debate his eligibility to ride his mother’s horse at 0.6lb in excess of the 2lb he had previously declared. Moreover, until such time as the stewards had completed their deliberations, Dante’s King could not be saddled as the other seven runners were being readied to enter the parade ring, be mounted and proceed to the start.

Roderic pleaded his 6’ 4” as the reason why all but starvation over the intervening period had left him, less than 0.5lb overweight, despite Ruby Walsh’s generous provision of his lightest boots. Ruby had also advised that Roderic get himself an even lighter set of colours if he wished to pursue his hazardous calling. The stewards told to him to wait outside pending their deliberations; 15 minutes by Roderic’s estimation.

On being recalled the rattled youngster was informed that they had decided to give him permission to ride at less than half a pound over his declared weight, though subject to a financial penalty and an admonition that any future such infringement would incur infinitely more drastic consequences.

Chivvied by the stipendiary steward to make haste as he sought to complete his preparations, the thoroughly harassed youngster hurried out to greet Dante’s King, legged up to complete half a lap of the parade ring before galloping down to the three-mile, one-furlong start.

Fortunately Dante’s King has been round long enough to make the ritual presentation to a steeplechase superfluous even if time allowed, which by then it did not. In the circumstances Roderic actually rode a race, tracking the hot favourite Sydney Paget, joining battle at the second last.

Sydney Paget produced the greater reserves of stamina to pass the post two lengths ahead of the valiant Dante’s King and his bitterly disappointed rider, who was all too quick to blame himself in defeat.

He had at least finished in front of Janey ‘Jack the Ripper’ Gillespie’s Faith Keeper, placed fifth!

Roderic Kavanagh will hopefully go one better before his battle with the scales brings his race riding career to a close. In the meantime one likes to think the legislators of the Irish National Hunt Committee would relax this draconian ruling, specifically in regard to amateurs riding their own horses for the sheer fun of it. If a man or woman cannot utilise his or her allowance to the full – or indeed at all – so what?

The Irish Times clearly shared those sentiments, as evidenced by its failure to indicate any such allowances in its results the following day. – Yours etc.,

PETER W. KAVANAGH,

Monasterevin,

Co Kildare.

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