Whiskey Sour tastes sweet for McMahons

The opening day of the 2017 Galway Festival was a stern reminder of the meeting’s all too familiar dismissive treatment of punters, but amongst the torment remains the potential for a fairy-tale, and it transpired in the feature race, the Connacht Hotel Qualified Riders’ Handicap.

Popular bookmaker, punter and prominent owner Luke McMahon knows the up and downs of the sport better than most, but the Grade 1-winning owner never had a day quite like this one as he watched his horse, Whiskey Sour, win the feature race with an accomplished ride from a very inexperienced rider – his 19-year-old son Aubrey.

“I just can’t put it into words,” said the winning owner, after the Willie Mullins-trained 16-1 chance raced home clear of the ultra-game Swamp Fox, with the winner’s stablemates, Lagostovegas and Digeanta, in third and fourth.