Parade ring mishap puts paid to Percy’s Cheltenham hopes

THEY travelled in their droves from Galway . . . hoping to see something which had never been done before at the Olympics of National Hunt racing.

A few of them had never even set foot on a racecourse prior to jumping in at the deep end, bound for the sport’s spiritual home in the Cotswolds.

The exodus from Galway, notably from Craughwell and Athenry, was the product of a locally trained horse bidding to land the most prestigious prize in the game.

The Cheltenham festival towers over every other race meeting in Ireland and Britain, and the Gold Cup towers over every other race at the famed four-day fixture.

To think that a small-time West of Ireland trainer was saddling the market leader for last Friday’s showpiece event bucked tradition in every way, but Pat Kelly is no ordinary handler.

He has a horse which stood on the brink of joining racing immortals like Golden Miller, Arkle, Desert Orchid, Best Mate and Kauto Star. As the flag was about to go up for the Gold Cup, the money continued to pour on Presenting Percy.

Many punters genuinely believed he would emerge as the best horse in the ultimate chasing test; others were simply fascinated by the potential fairytale of the reserved Galway trainer successfully taking on the big operations backboned by mega-rich owners.

Kelly’s own strained relationship with the racing press only added to the intrigue. Racegoers love someone different, especially someone who has a proven track record at the biggest festival of all.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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