BIG-PRICED winners by their nature can generate headlines within racing, but when Ellie Mac crossed the line in front at a price 50/1 in the opening race of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival in December, it was not her starting price that catapulted her success into the attention of the mainstream media. It was the colours that she had carried to that shock victory, those of the Niccolai Schuster Horse Racing Club.

Niccolai Schuster was one of six students killed in the Berkeley balcony tragedy in June 2015. The 21-year-old from Terenure in Dublin, a grand-nephew of writer and playwright John B. Keane, was a racing fan and his family and friends have continued his love affair with the sport by setting up the racing club in his name.