THANKS to reader Raymond Hunt, Londonderry Arms Hotel, Carnlough, Co Antrim, www.glensofantrim.com, for details of a piece in The Irish Field in 1965 about the formation of the Arkle Fan Club in the hotel.Raymond writes that while the founder members of the club have sadly passed on, the spirit of Arkle still lives in the Arkle Whiskey bar!

One of the items on display is the shoe worn by Arkle when he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1965 and many visitors are keen to touch the shoe for luck. It was brought to the hotel by Pat Taaffe and Tom Dreaper when they visited in 1965 for a celebratory dinner. Raymond continues: “For the past three years I have tipped the winner of the Arkle Chase at Cheltenham and posted the tip in advance on the hotel’s Facebook. I think it must be something to do with Arkle’s long standing connection with the hotel!