Popular West of Ireland track launches their racing programme for 2017

IF any racing aficionado still clung to the notion that Ballinrobe was just a summer course for modest horses, their outdated perception would have been well and truly buried by the happenings at the recent Cheltenham National Hunt Festival.

Irish runners ransacked the sport’s most prestigious meeting with a record-breaking 19 wins and four of those horses, including the Galway-trained Presenting Percy, had been successful earlier in their careers at the picturesque Co Mayo track.

Pat Kelly’s Cheltenham hero landed his bumper in Ballinrobe in March of 2016, while three more winners in the Cotswolds, Tiger Roll, Rock The World and Champion Chase victor, Special Tiara, all landed their novice chases at the course.

It’s an impressive roll of honour by any standards and underlines the higher quality chaser and hurdler Ballinrobe had been attracting over the past five years in particular – a reflection of ongoing improvements to facilities and the expansion of the course itself.

Having four track winners coming up trumps at the Cheltenham festival was the perfect backdrop last Friday night for Ballinrobe launching their 65-race programme spread over nine meetings for 2017.

Though that represents one less fixture than last year, total prizemoney for Ballinrobe’s seven National Hunt and two flat fixtures of €920,000 is actually a comparative increase on the 2017 total of €950,000.

John Flannelly, Ballinrobe’s Racetrack Manager, outlined this year’s calendar with the action getting underway on Tuesday evening, May 2, and revealed that the track will host 11 feature races, valued between €20,000 and €40,000.

Once again, the big meeting of the year on Tuesday, May 30, will feature the €40,000 McHale Mayo National Handicap Chase, won last year by the Aidan O’Brien trained King Leon, and the McHale Coranna Handicap Hurdle (€27,500).

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