THE PR launch last week of the Dublin Racing Festival was a roaring success, and as Ladbrokes and Newbury discovered earlier in the winter, bringing the horses to work on track is always a big hit, and beats any speeches hands down.

You can talk about prize money and prestige until you’re blue in the face, and of course those aspects are a draw to owners and trainers, but all you need to sell a racing festival is the sweet smell of horse sweat.