Tales of triumph and tragedy

For those more used to the muck, mud, rain and cold of deep winter that normally accompanies their favourite sport, it was positively balmy in Clonmel yesterday for the first day of the 83rd running of the annual National Coursing Meeting.

The sun beamed over the shoulder of the Comeraghs from early morning, the snow disappeared from the head of noble Slievenamon, and by 11.45 - the first buckle of the meet, the opening round of the Oaks - there was a smile on the collective face of Powerstown Park. And what a collective. Men, women, boys, girls, from every corner of this island, from various outposts of the island next door – why, there was even a visitor from Jordan. When Abdul Shmashn married Deirdre Quinlan he wasn’t just gaining a wife, he was marrying into a tradition, a full-Monty coursing clan, and there he was yesterday, thoroughly enjoying the fare on the course, serving his apprenticeship during the interval as he prepared a succession of hot whiskey and port punch orders for the motley crew who gather round Anne’s generous improvised table.

Down at slips, however, a problem – the phone bell wouldn’t stop ringing, the dogs wouldn’t settle, and Brian Divilly, owner/breeder/trainer (along with partner Noelle McCarthy and their sons Peter and Shane) of the waiting Crafty Kalisto, was forced to take action, did a little disconnecting, and the show was on the road. Actually, he was a busy man all day, was Brian; featured in these pages on Friday last, the Crafty kennels (the Divilly brand) had two qualifiers in the Oaks, four in the Derby, so that all four Divillys (along with helpful first-cousin Olivia Roche) had a track worn from their pitch down by the stables, to slips, to escape, and back again.

It started with Kalisto in the Oaks, first buckle of the day, ended with Cebato in the Derby, last buckle of the day. How did they fare? Not good, to begin with, Kalisto and Arubo both beaten in the Oaks, though Arubo looked up ’til beaten in the final stride by the battling Dale Andretti. Then came the Derby, and first up for the Divillys was their much-fancied Crafty Hugo, 2/1 favourite for the quarter, as low as 6/1 for the whole shebang with the more tight-fisted bagmen in the betting ring. Won, and won with style, bringing a smile of relief to the face of 14-year-old Shane, joint owner with his father.

“I’m always nervous,” he explained – “Even when he won his Trial Stake I was nervous, and that wasn’t as big an occasion as this.”

Shane was hopeful that his second Derby runner, Gilberto, would also oblige – “I think they’re both the same, as good as one another,” – but Johnny Casanova, owned by the Jammy Dodger Syndicate from Charleville, had other ideas.

The other two Divilly Derby dogs, Sissoko and Cebato, were joint-owned with his father by Peter, two years older than Shane, and now, with the younger sibling already through to day two, Peter was under a bit of pressure. Which one had the better chance? “We’ll soon find out!” was his short answer. We didn’t soon find out, as it happened; Sissoko went down midway through the second quarter, beaten by A Noble Man from Glin, and we had to wait ’til the final buckle of the day to learn the fate of Cebato, and Peter – happily, Cebato obliged, and Peter too has Derby Day two interest.

That’s the story of one family, but all over Powerstown yesterday drama was being played out, and while most of the colour was provided from the sidelines, the main players were out on the course. “Best of luck,” said Elaine Guiney to Patrick Moloney, as her Feeling Flush waited in slips to take on Danagher’s Rock; “And best of luck to you too,” replied Patrick, “Isn’t that all we can do now, wish each other luck – we can’t go up on their backs!” The luck was with Elaine on this one – “We’ll have to come back!”, she smiled as she led her dog back to the car-park.

A hot fancy in the Derby is Sandy Sea, owned by the renowned Patsy Byrne, trained by the even more renowned Pa Fitzgerald, and he looked really impressive in easily disposing of Lixnaw Doc. “Good luck,” was what the Doc’s owner, Kevin Gleeson, also wished Sandy Sea’s catcher, Owen Browne, before adding the rider – “Not that you’re going to need it!” Prophetic words, as Sandy skated home.

Along with Crafty Hugo and Sandy Sea, there’s a third ‘talking dog’ in this year’s Derby. Over the past several days there has been a major gamble on Joe O’Connor’s Razor Ashmore, now reputedly trained by the esteemed Newry greyhound guru, Brendan Matthews, and this was the talk of the track. Razor did look sharp on the hill, the testing point for every dog in Clonmel, but was given a decent test by the well-named Pumpactionpaddy. More to come from Razor Ashmore? Definitely, with Brendan on the lead.

Those are the big kennels, the hot fancies, but Clonmel is also about the dreamers, and today in the Oaks, Mungo’s Amy goes again. Trainer? 10-yr-old Grace Lawler and her slightly older brother Marcus, son and daughter of the meeting judge, the hugely respected Tom Lawler. Mind you, despite her tender years Grace has a bit of an advantage over most trainers – over the weekend, she won the Leinster U-12 60m indoor title, in Nenagh, and Grace uses that speed and fitness to get Amy in shape.

“I was expecting her to do well, I thought she’d win today anyway,” she said, which surprised her cousin, Caoimhe Cullen. “We’re just delighted to be here,” said Caoimhe. “She’s a good bitch but we’re hoping, not expecting.” Clonmel isn’t about triumph and tragedy, about tales of grief and glory, though all of that is there in greater or lesser measure. Hare, hound and human is one of the oldest triumvirates on earth – this is its continuation, its modern manifestation.