Huge crowds at race meetings over the Christmas period is great news for the sport, says Davy Russell

Three-time Irish champion jockey and twice Grand National winner Davy Russell on some thrilling races in England and Ireland over the festive period – and being grateful to Irish politicians

Christmas racing on both sides of the Irish Sea was brilliant this year. The King George VI Chase at Kempton was a real highlight – from the turn in, everyone who had an interest in one of the horses had a winning chance, it was that close. So many people were shouting for so many different horses.

The King George result came down to a mere bob of the head, underlining just how important the whole race is – it’s vital not to miss [a stride at] a fence or get out of position early on when the margins are so tight.

Cheltenham Festival and Grade One winner Gaelic Warrior (third) ran his race, Jango Baie (fourth) came out of the contest with credit and last year’s winner Banbridge showed his liking for Kempton and put in a seasonal best to be second.

The Jukebox Man was exceptional though and it was a brilliant result for everyone involved with him, all of whom are real characters. Having Harry Redknapp as owner adds another bit of spice to the story.

Their success marked a changing of the guard and is brilliant for the sport. Ben Jones is a real up-and-coming jockey and, while the hard-working Ben Pauling is obviously an established trainer, he’s been trying to make the breakthrough to winning these big races and he’s done it now.

An uncertain future

Kempton’s future is a real worry, with continued talk about the track’s sale for development. This has been rumbling for a long time so The Jockey Club needs to concentrate on investing in and highlighting its other premier tracks. Hopefully the huge attendances at this year’s Christmas Festival will help Kempton’s cause – it was a theme that continued at racecourses everywhere over the festive period.

Leopardstown was unbelievable with a young crowd of racegoers and a party atmosphere, while I’ve never experienced anything like Tramore on New Year’s Day – it was on fire, which is absolutely brilliant for the sport. With more exciting meetings coming up, including the Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park, I hope we see more of the same.

The big race in Ireland over Christmas, the Savills Chase at Leopardstown, wasn’t disappointing exactly but I feel the King George was a deeper race to this Irish showpiece where we saw big names getting beaten. It looks as if there’s a change coming in that section – these things come in waves and we’ve seen the same horses for a while now.

When I looked at the race, I thought a new name might be crowned as we’ve seen most of the other horses for so long and there has to be a change somewhere. I fancied the winner, Affordale Fury with Sam Ewing riding, for that reason and it was great that his trainer Noel Meade got his day in the sun because he’s a great horseman.

Gordon Elliott’s 18 winners at Christmas was an unbelievable achievement and he claimed some big pots too. Gordon always tends to lead the trainers’ championship at this time of year, then Willie Mullins takes over in the new year, but there’s a slightly different feeling to it this year.

Gordon excelled over the Christmas period and with a successful Dublin Racing Festival and a couple of other good meetings, he could be playing a bigger role in the championship this time around.

Another horse you’d give huge credit to was the Barry Connell-trained Marine Nationale in the Grade One chase at Leopardstown. He was almost on the floor, coming to a complete standstill, at an early fence and yet I was really impressed how he came back and finished just half a length behind winner Solness.

Romeo Coolio also caught the eye in the novice chase there. He really toughed it out under Jack Kennedy and whether the form is good enough or not I don’t know, but he showed his liking for racing with a brilliant attitude.

Being bullied out

My family and I enjoyed a good bit of hunting over Christmas and we’ll be getting plenty more in over the next few weeks. I really appreciate how lucky we are in Ireland that our government stood up for hunting and its future is now secure, whereas the opposite is happening in England.

In December, the Irish Parliament overwhelmingly overturned a bill to ban hunting and it was very pleasing to hear politicians speak in favour of our country life and the importance of our way of living, whereas English politicians seem to be bullying the country out of hunting. It’s sad to see.

● What was your experience of Christmas racing? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance for your thoughts to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine

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