Ruby Walsh: Listowel may have lost its mystery but harvest bonds are still special
Harvesting the best view: Spectators watch racing in the Brandon Hotel Beginners Chase from outside of Listowel race course last year. Pic: INPHO/Bryan Keane
The Harvest Festival in Listowel starts tomorrow afternoon with the first of seven days racing in north Kerry, on the banks of the river Feale.
Long gone are days when those entering over the Feale from the town side of the track did so to the echoes of “throw me down something”. So, too, are the days of this being predominantly adults only.
I was 16 and riding before I was in Listowel, as the only five days they raced in the calendar year were the last Monday to Friday in September.
Racecourses have to maximise media rights income to sustain their venues. Running a business doesn't allow for nostalgia, and sadly tradition rarely covers the costs, so changes of some sort are required.
It is called progress, I suppose, but with the expansion of those five days to seven and the extra three days in June to double its total number of days, Listowel is no longer mysterious. Still, it knows that and has focused on creating a mini festival within this festival to try and keep some of its old traditions.
Sunday to Tuesday will mirror most regular race meetings, but from Kerry National Day on, the crowds in the town and on ‘the island’ will soar to festival levels, and the locals' harvest will begin.
Friday's crowd will probably be the peak and even before the first race it is likely to surpass last weekend's total attendance at Leopardstown and the Curragh, let alone by the time everybody has flowed in through the day.
How or why is probably open to many debates, but one thing stands out to me is the bond the racecourse has kept with the locality, not just in the town of Listowel but south into Kerry and northeast into Limerick.
Ballybunion and Tralee are the direct benefactors in overflow for accommodation, but as far away as Adare and Killarney the hotels and pubs pick up business. Listowel's sponsors for the week reflect as much, and when the locality buys in, the onus is on them to help drive the occasion.
‘Shop local’ rings loud.
If you do shop tomorrow you will see some of the best the game can offer playing. Common Practice (2.10) suggests Nikini (2.40) should win the second, but What Path (3.40) needs some Chemical Energy (4.10) for the Easy Game (4.40) in the Polo Lounge (5.10).
I enjoyed the action last weekend, and there were some terrific equine and human displays on the course over two riveting days of Longines Irish Champions Weekend.
From Zarinsk in the opening Ingabelle Stakes to Kyprios in the final stakes race, all the quality contests delivered.
The rise of the long home turn from the back straight to the home straight requires patience but the run to the line is just long enough to allow the closers to catch up if they are good enough.
Leopardstown can marry a great track and the requirement for top race riding. It naturally creates excitement, and watching Colin Keane, Billy Lee and Christophe Soumillon master it from the front was as engaging as watching Chris Hayes land Duke De Sessa in front of the line.
Stephane Pasquier and Ryan Moore controlled the Champion Stakes from mid-division, knowing they had Christophe, on Vadeni, behind them and too far off the pace. They then came wide enough off the home turn to encourage him to stay inside when they straightened up and then slowly drifted back in to make things awkward for the French favourite.
On Sunday, Chris Hayes oozed unfathomable confidence on Tahiyra, and Ryan Moore stoked Kyprios into full flow from the stalls like a jockey going to the two pole. With the style of a champion, Dylan Browne McGonagle broke his Group One duck on Al Riffa, and Jason Hart extended his fruitful association with the bullet-like Highfield Princess.
Only time will tell how substantial the weekend form is but, to the eye, it looked rock solid. I know the weekend had a weak spot or two because nothing is perfect but removing the sales two-year-olds’ race late on Sunday's card is one change I would make.
Momentum built steadily at the Curragh from Above The Curve in the Blandford Stakes to Kyprios in the St Leger. Many people have questioned the atmosphere on Sunday, and the crowd figures for both days are disappointing. I could start making excuses or giving reasons, but the reality is that neither track engages with the locality. If they do, both have failed.
Flat racing is, apparently, a hard sell in Ireland, but that's just another excuse because everything social is a hard sell right now. The quality of sport on offer could not have been any higher, but it's a pity the venues couldn't have repaid them with more atmospheric enclosures to have enjoyed it.
I wish I knew the solution, but I know that accepting this as the new normal for horse racing is the start of a dangerous decline for the sport.
Banking on media rights income delivered predominately by bookmakers relies on growth in the gambling sector. However, if nobody is racing, fewer will have a sustained interest in the sport, and this product's overall value will only go one way.
Somebody needs to be proactive at our larger venues and follow the lead of our smaller courses. Actions, not excuses, are required.
