THANKFULLY their neighbours would have been well aware that there was nothing sinister about all the shouting and screaming coming from the Mackey home outside Dromore last Friday week and would have been well pleased to hear the cheering which followed Native River’s victory in the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Dairy farmer Fred Mackey, who bred the Indian River gelding, his wife Maureen, two of their three sons and some friends had taken a few hours off work to enjoy the racing coverage on television. The noise level grew throughout the afternoon, hitting its peak when Richard Johnson and the Colin Tizzard-trained chesnut crossed the line four and a half lengths clear of Might Bite.