Brides first past the post at sunny start to festival
The record books might say Train of Thought won the first race at this year’s Galway Races but it was a field of lovely ladies who really took the honours.
Twenty five brides, along with another 15 assorted bridesmaids and relatives, sprinted the last furlong. Decked out in their wedding dresses, it was a tough haul up part of the Ballybrit hill for the 40 or so hardy souls.
They might not have been as fast as the four-legged creatures taking to the course yesterday, but there was no doubting the speed of the winner, Caoilinn de Bairead, who stormed home in a pretty impressive performance.
Looking like she had barely broken a sweat, the Dublin-born but Galwegian at heart, said she kept fit by riding horses every day. Clearly she had an inside track how to race the final furlong.
“I come racing every year, I love it. This is the closest I’ve ever been to the finishing line. Hopefully, I can do it on a horse sometime. It’s great to do this for a good cause, though, and the girls are great fun.”
While the winner had been married 14 years, after meeting her husband while studying in Galway, another racer was married just 24 hours before taking to the course.
Jasmin Stallard was still getting used to a new surname when her husband told her to get out and race for charity.
“I haven’t even had a chance to get the dress cleaned, but my husband was the one who told me to get out racing. I was feeling very competitive so it was great fun.”
One man glad he didn’t have to be doing as much running any more was former Munster and Irish rugby legend David Wallace. He admitted that sunning himself in Galway on a rare fine day was “a breath of fresh air” compared to pre-season training.
“I’m fine with not having to train, that’s for sure. I’m just appreciating having the time now to spend with family, its a breath of fresh air really. I have been speaking to some of the guys and they were saying that it’s the hardest pre-season they’ve been through, so when you hear that, you are glad of having your free time again.”
David was in Galway just a few weeks ago taking part in one of the Volvo Ocean Race Pro-Am events aboard the Puma yacht. He admitted he preferred the salt air to the turf of Ballybrit. “Galway has the reputation of being a great event so it’s nice to be here for it, but I wouldn’t know the first thing about it. It seems like an expensive hobby to me.”
A sportsman with a keener knowledge of all things equine was Ireland and Wolves footballer Stephen Hunt. An owner of four horses, it was surprisingly his first visit to Galway. “I had a horse that was supposed to run here this year but he got injured so it didn’t happen. Galway is great though, it’s a great event and the buzz is always great here so it’s great to get here for the racing.”
As for the weather, the gods were kind to the City of the Tribes yesterday. The sun also shines on punters when Dermot Weld comes to town, and the King of Ballybrit was in dominant form with three winners.
Hayley O’Connor of Ladbrokes was already sounding depressed with the festival only a few hours old.
“Many punters have betting strategies but at Galway there is only one — back Weld. He’s knocked the stuffing out of us already and we’ve another six days to endure. He definitely flexed his muscles on day one and I think I’d rather step in the ring with Katie Taylor than take on Dermot Weld at Ballybrit.”
