Whyso Mayo gives food for thought

A FIGURE who knows Cheltenham and its personalities better than most is Sligoman, Terry McCann.

Over the years he has lavished great food and fine wines on the rich and famous.

Terry was working late last night ensuring that JP’s box in the main stand was stocked up with plentiful supplies of lobster, smoked salmon, rib of beef and the best of wine from the Martinstown Stud cellar.

Terry has been coming to Cheltenham for 42 years and for many of those he has ensured that next to the winners enclosure, access to JP’s box is a prized invite.

Among the 15,000 or so Irish punters sweeping into the County of Gloucestershire yesterday was Mark Hourigan.

Today he will come of age as a Cheltenham aficionado attending his 21st day’s racing at the venue.

It will be his fourth festival on the trot. Not bad, given he has just turned 13.

It’s in the blood you see. His dad Michael trains Gold Cup hopeful Beef or Salmon and two of his older brothers went on to become successful jockeys.

Asked for his nap of the week, Mark, opined with the assuredness of Ted Walsh: “Whyso Mayo out of Raymond Hurley’s yard.”

Down in ring, English bookmaker Freddie Williams has thrown down a challenge to JP to put the first one million pound sterling bet on a single horse.

Last year, McManus hit Williams for nearly a million when he put £100,000 on his horse Reveillez which came home at 6-1.