I needed a second look at the calendar to make sure it wasn`t April 1. Another crisis at Punchestown with the bank`s course unfit for racing, and plans for a new racecourse in Donegal! Maybe it`s just me but the world as we know it is becoming a funny, perhaps scary would be more accurate, place.
The tale of woe at Punchestown in recent years has been well chronicled, but surely the current management team is nearing the final straw. A Turf Club inspection of the historic bank`s course on Friday revealed the ground around Ruby`s Double, the centre-piece of the cross-country track positioned in front of the grandstand, to be rough and unfit for racing. A modified track, which will not include Ruby`s Double, was subsequently passed by officials yesterday.
The damage was caused by a point-to-point and schooling races, but surely this state of affairs is just not good enough for our premier National Hunt course. Can you imagine Cheltenham announcing just before their Festival that anumber of feature races can`t be run because they didn`t look after the ground properly?
I`ll take a few deep breath`s and continue taking the tablets before switching the attention to talk of a new track in the north-west. Apparently a group of local businessmen are planning a 25 million euro development near Derry city. Where is the money going to come from? You and I of course. The cynical among us might think the timing of this proposal, so close to a general election, is a factor. Will local Minister for Sport, Jim McDaid, be put under pressure to deliver for the Donegal constituency?
If there is to be a new racecourse in the near future, then it must be built in the greater Dublin area. Approximately one third of the population are on the doorstep, and the current remote location of many of our tracks militates against a decent attendance. The proposed new all-weather track offers this opportunity. What about relaunching the Phoenix Park?
Incidentally Cashmans have opened a book on the site of the all-weather track, with Naas the hot favourite at 4/6. Fairyhouse is the clear second best in the market at 6/4, with 10/1 Tipperary, 20/1 Limerick and 100/1 Dundalk also quoted.
Ruby Walsh and Michael Kinane were both in the news for different reasons during the week. Walsh had a `Super Saturday` at Ayr when partnering a 5,716/1 four-timer, highlighted by an outstanding ride on Take Control to land the Scottish Grand National.
Meanwhile Kinane was in trouble with the stewards at Newmarket on Thursday. He was found guilty of irresponsible riding of a major nature, and a seven day suspension rules him out of the Kentucky Derby mount on Johannesburg.
At the opposite end of the jockeys` spectrum, Robert Colgan, Jonathan Gooney and Nicky O`Shea all recorded their first success in the saddle this week.
A final tip for the breeding sector. Remember the name, Spinning World. I made a mental note at the Goffs Orby Sale a few years ago when impressed by his first crop of yearlings, and they are now showing signs of producing the goods on the track. King Of Happiness justified a tall home reputation when taking the Craven Stakes in fine style at Newmarket on Thursday and, with the Aidan O`Brien-trained Tendulkar also waiting in the wings, may provide a Classic victory that would really boost stock in the Nureyev stallion.
Alan Magee
