'We couldn't have written the stories any better ourselves' - Irish Champions Festival attendances up ten per cent

Curragh chief executive Brian Kavanagh admitted having two four-runner events on day two of the Irish Champions Festival was disappointing but stressed it was an anomaly rather than a worrying trend, while his Leopardstown counterpart Tim Husbands felt the slight drop in attendance on day one was down to other sporting occasions clashing with the fixture. Both were more than satisfied with how the weekend panned out.

An official crowd of 10,019 at Leopardstown was down 261 from the same day in 2022, but there was a 28 per cent rise at the Curragh where last year's attendance of 6,742 rose to 8,646. That represented an overall increase of almost ten per cent on last year.

The late withdrawal of ante-post Derby favourite City Of Troy from the National Stakes left just four runners and it was a similar story in the Irish St Leger when Emily Dickinson was taken out. Kavanagh is not overly concerned, though, and stressed recent runnings of those two Group 1s have had much bigger fields.

Kavanagh said: "It was a bit disappointing to only have four runners in two of the big races but, in fairness, both of those races over the years have not been a problem in terms of numbers, especially the St Leger, so it was just one of those years. You would obviously like to see more than four runners in those races but we had eight different winning trainers on the day and we had three English winners.

"There was a really good atmosphere and the thoroughbred trails and the various things we did in the morning were very well received. The figures were up with the on-course bookmakers as well so overall I was happy.

He added: "Our attendances have been up 21 per cent year-to-date before yesterday so that will continue on the up, but this is still a work in progress and there is still plenty to build on. We have had great feedback this year from the on-course bookmakers. We're continuously working with them and we'd like to get all the feedback we can from racegoers too to see what areas we can improve upon."

Reflecting on his Saturday serving at Leopardstown, Husbands said: "The attendance matched last year's. Can we try to get more? Yes, we can. I think we were unlucky with the combination of the rugby being on the TV and the golf playing out at the K Club, so obviously we'd like to think we could do more next year.

"I thought the experience was brilliant and there was a real festival vibe around the place. The racing was top quality and we couldn't have written the stories any better, they were exactly the way we wanted them to play out."

On-course bookmaker Brian Keenan was on duty both days and said there was a much better trade at the Curragh than Leopardstown.

Keenan said: "My turnover was down 22 per cent at Leopardstown compared to the same day last year. I was up about eight per cent at the Curragh. It was the best atmosphere I can remember at the Curragh since the redevelopment.

"Leopardstown is probably my favourite track in the country. I love the place, but it just never got going on Saturday. It was very flat for some reason. I just can't put my finger on why."

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