The Festival may have become dominated by multi-millionaire owners and the biggest yards but there will be heartwarming experiences this week. Maybe even a win for Magnor Glory on Friday
For years he had been running outsiders in handicap hurdles at the Festival but in 2009 he had a leading chance with Ebadiyan in the Triumph Hurdle, the championship race for four-year-olds. Brady, a radiant and ebullient character, was nearly 70 at the time, locked in a long battle with cancer, taking 27 tablets a day and making the 180-mile round trip from his home in Monaghan to the Mater hospital in Dublin for treatment.
This year it could be Jonathan Sweeney, with his smashing young chaser Churchstonewarrior. In the last 10 seasons, Sweeney has trained fewer than 20 winners on the track in Ireland. Then this horse came along. The trainer Terence O’Brien is our friend and neighbour, and he’s sending a horse this year, Magnor Glory in the County Hurdle. In country places, roots spread for miles. My grandfather used to work for Terence’s father – and grandfather – on their family farm, and late in my grandfather’s life, more than 40 years ago, Terence’s father Willie named a horse after him.
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