Comments on: Grand National - Sweep & Follow http://irishkc.com/grand-national-sweep-follow.htm Kansas City Irish Festivals, Music, Pubs, & Events by an Artist in Ireland Thu, 24 May 2012 09:17:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: Primal Sneeze http://irishkc.com/grand-national-sweep-follow.htm#comment-41408 Primal Sneeze Sat, 14 Apr 2007 06:45:02 +0000 http://irishkc.com/index.php/grand-national-sweep-follow.htm#comment-41408 My favourite was 2000 when Papillon, trained by Ted Walsh and ridden by his son, Ruby (real name Rupert, for those who are interested). I was sitting beside one of Ted's stable staff in the crowded bar of my local. The cheers were deafening. The windows shook. The young girl began to cry and clung onto me. Through the sobs she told me she'd been given money by her parents to buy a second-hand car. She put most of it on Papillon at 33/1 that morning. (SP was 10/1). She really believed in the horse. The tears were because if he had lost her parents would have been unhappy, to say the least. Over the din, someone called for quiet. There were familiar faces on the TV screen. <i>Look, there's Mary. And Kevin. And ... hold on ... me too</i> In the excitement, we hadn't noticed that a Sky camera crew were in the pub covering our post-race celebrations live. The home-coming was just as exciting. The traffic came to a standstill for a parade. Papillon didn't shy. He seemed to revel in the attention. Kids slipped in and out under him. Everyone wanted to pat him. Everyone wanted to be part of the victory. The owner bought a round of drinks ... for the whole village. The day after, he was equipped with saddlebags full of sweets and taken to the local primary school. This what horse racing is about. I've talked about it in my doing-a-bet post. It's not the betting - that's a sideline, a bonus. (An expensive new car for one girl). It's about appreciating a good horse. It's about excitement. It's a way of life. My favourite was 2000 when Papillon, trained by Ted Walsh and ridden by his son, Ruby (real name Rupert, for those who are interested).

I was sitting beside one of Ted’s stable staff in the crowded bar of my local. The cheers were deafening. The windows shook. The young girl began to cry and clung onto me. Through the sobs she told me she’d been given money by her parents to buy a second-hand car. She put most of it on Papillon at 33/1 that morning. (SP was 10/1). She really believed in the horse. The tears were because if he had lost her parents would have been unhappy, to say the least.

Over the din, someone called for quiet. There were familiar faces on the TV screen. Look, there’s Mary. And Kevin. And … hold on … me too In the excitement, we hadn’t noticed that a Sky camera crew were in the pub covering our post-race celebrations live.

The home-coming was just as exciting. The traffic came to a standstill for a parade. Papillon didn’t shy. He seemed to revel in the attention. Kids slipped in and out under him. Everyone wanted to pat him. Everyone wanted to be part of the victory. The owner bought a round of drinks … for the whole village. The day after, he was equipped with saddlebags full of sweets and taken to the local primary school.

This what horse racing is about. I’ve talked about it in my doing-a-bet post. It’s not the betting - that’s a sideline, a bonus. (An expensive new car for one girl). It’s about appreciating a good horse. It’s about excitement. It’s a way of life.

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