Another worrying Irish Champions Festival - and races that feel like an intrusive, post-coital afterthought don't help
It seems a long time ago now but when the Irish Champions Weekend initiative launched to considerable fanfare in 2014 it sparked a 50 per cent year-on-year attendance surge at Leopardstown.
The official crowd given was 13,190 and in a column at the time I suggested the record of 17,000 who poured through the turnstiles to see Fantastic Light outpoint Galileo in 2001 had to be the next target. So much for that projection.
For the second year in a row, day one of the newly branded Irish Champions Festival at Leopardstown lacked any real atmosphere, this time despite a truly epic showpiece. Officially, the attendance was given as 10,135, although it felt like a lot less than that.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inRichard Forristal
Last updated
Copy- There's little to stop the Mullins mob - but that shouldn't stop us celebrating one of the greatest chasers of all time
- Willie Mullins isn't happy - but the great man's interests and those of racing aren't necessarily one and the same
- My five highlights of 2024 - including a golden era for the division that is jump racing's beating heart
- Winners identifying as maidens? Ireland's bizarre new academy hurdles initiative is impossible to fathom
- Jack Kennedy's latest grim misfortune is a massive blow to Gordon Elliott - and there's no Davy Russell to call upon this time
- There's little to stop the Mullins mob - but that shouldn't stop us celebrating one of the greatest chasers of all time
- Willie Mullins isn't happy - but the great man's interests and those of racing aren't necessarily one and the same
- My five highlights of 2024 - including a golden era for the division that is jump racing's beating heart
- Winners identifying as maidens? Ireland's bizarre new academy hurdles initiative is impossible to fathom
- Jack Kennedy's latest grim misfortune is a massive blow to Gordon Elliott - and there's no Davy Russell to call upon this time