IN ALL FAIRNESS - Nenagh Point to Point provides uplifting storyline

Fatherhood can change a lot in a man, particularly priorities. Going to matches was 1 and 1A on the list of things to do on weekends for a long time but that has all changed, and for the better as many will understand.

To my shame, in my seventeen years working for this newspaper, I had never been at the Nenagh Point to Point meeting prior to last Sunday. And what a day to take it in. From talking to organisers, it was one of the biggest crowds to attend in recent memory, helped by the unusually mild spring day.

Point to pointers are the hardiest of the hardiest race-goers, these men and women know their racing, out in all-weathers most weekends, and whose knowledge of the racing scene is more than those that head to Punchestown and Cheltenham on a regular basis.

It is also an event for the social follower who might not frequent the front-line meetings such as nearby Thurles and Limerick, but will support a local meeting when the opportunity presents itself.

The track at Lisboney on the Dublin road, opposite the graveyard, is a fine location for both horse and spectator. Bar the entrance to the back-straight which goes downhill and blind for a spell, race-goers get a spectacular view of each three-mile race, which takes in almost two and three quarter laps of the undulating course.

There was a large entry for the point to point beforehand, despite there being two other meetings on the same afternoon, and while the final declarations were reduced with a tacky track, it was a real test of stamina for the horses, many of whom were unable to finish, with the final uphill run on the third lap too much for many.

One of those was Pray Tell who was leading the Winner of One race at 2.00pm by fifteen lengths when approaching the final fence. However, in the final few strides, he looked out on his feet and crashed into the fence, falling awkwardly on landing, with jockey Darragh Allen pinned underneath.

Thankfully the rider was pulled out unscathed as the big crowd watched the animal lying on the ground and barely moving. You feared the worst at this stage, that it had suffered a fatal injury, with the screen put up in front of him. Miraculously after what appeared like an eternity, the horse got to his feet and was thankfully okay, just severely winded following his exertions and fall. Pray Tell’s prayers were answered!

The story of the race takes a surreal twist when the subsequent winner of the race, War Call, was wearing the green and gold colours of the DQ11 Syndicate, named in honour of the late Clonoulty-Rossmore and Tipperary hurler Dillon Quirke, for whom at the same time in Semple Stadium, a game was held in the honour of the Foundation set up in his name.

While Dillon sadly never got up off the ground on that fateful evening last August when he lost his life so tragically on the hurling field, that the race won by a horse in his syndicates name, which saw the horse that was going to win, as good as rise from the dead was surreal and haunting, making you wonder did Dillon play a part in ensuring there would be no more sadness on this occasion.

Thankfully, other than an ankle sprain for a jockey in a fall in one of the later races, the Nenagh Point to Point went off without a hitch for both human and animal, and is a credit to all those who keep this annual event alive and indeed getting stronger.