Germans will finally have it all with Pep on their side

I brought some German colleagues to the dogs a few years ago. It might well be the last time anyone from their nation turned elsewhere for sporting inspiration.

They had nothing like it at home so they were impressed. The sausages with their chips mightn’t, in truth, have been of the calibre they were used to, but one feature, in particular, took their fancy.

They liked how the races were timed so that, during a lull at Curraheen Park, you could follow the action from Shelbourne Park on the TV screens.