LAST week we reported that two of our five Irish Derby competition winners shared the same name - Gerry Hanley.

The two Gerrys (Gerries?) – one from Galway and one from Kildare – agreed to meet for a photo at the new Lester Piggott bronze on Saturday, just to satisfy our curiosity.

Gerry on the right (with the tie) is the Galway man. He played a bit of music at the Galway Races event in the Guinness Storehouse recently.

Melbourne Cup

Galway Gerry reported: “We found we had a few things in common. Both of us had a daughter in Melbourne and each of us brought our daughter to the Melbourne Cup. We plan to meet up again at Galway.”

Kildare Gerry said: “Before Covid I won another competition in The Irish Field and the prize was a trip to the Derby and accommodation. The package had to be rolled over to 2021 and then it was cancelled again. Maybe it was fate that I won tickets for the Derby this year.”