Secret invite to the inner sanctum of racing

LIKE Aga Khan thoroughbreds we stood, corralled, separated from the common hordes. Not for us the crush of the crowd or cold concrete steps to park bums on.

No, we were in the hushed enclave called the winners’ enclosure, off limits to all bar owners and trainers.

In five days of frittering away hard-earned money on useless nags, it was a moment to savour. A loser in the winners’ enclosure, courtesy of Horse Racing Ireland.

Another moment to savour at yesterday’s Galway Races was the second victory this week of diminutive jockey Rory Cleary.

On Tuesday, aboard Palace Star, he had tearfully dedicated his first win to his brother Sean, tragically killed in a fall at last year’s meeting. Last night, his mother Kathleen declared herself “over the moon” when he came in first on High Priestess. “This is the other side of it,” she said.

TG4’s Hector was also celebrating. He has ties with the Cleary family - Sean had hidden his horse Traverse - and Hector had “a nice touch” on High Priestess.

His tip for me - Akilana - faded nicely before the finish, for fear he would break my duck. Hector too was fading, in the face of the mad and the sad - women old enough to know better than harangue him for hugs he was clearly reluctant to give.

His fobbed them off feebly arguing that he was “just a Meath man who speaks Irish” and not in the celebrity game.

Star personalities were scarce on the ground, the only ‘name’ at yesterday’s meet was Gaeltacht Minister Eamon Ó Cuív, hardly likely to start a stampede. A couple of Connaught rugby players were kicking around, among them hooker Bernard Jackman.

There were other seedier tales of hookers, rumours of ladies of the night descending on certain parts of Galway City, to cater for gambling men.

Helicopters catered for those with more money than sense, the constant overhead whirring like the soundtrack of Blackhawk Down. A trip to the track - just a hop, skip and jump from the pick-up point - was a cool €220, if you were wealthy enough to afford paying to avoid the taxi queues.

A trip to Ballybrit is likely to cost you your marriage dowry if you’re the last of the big spenders like me, but for pure entertainment value, the return on your money is good.

As the sun set on Ballybrit, I reflected on the Trilbys, thrills and spills that are the Galway Races and decided gambling is better left to those who know their nags.