1500 was the value of the race when it was run.

Anyone remember a very well named horse running often in the park called Bunkered by Entanglement out of Golf Ball. Think Bertie Kerr trained it and Buster Parnell rode it, sometime in the 70s.

Joanna Morgan was attached to the Seamus McGrath Stable at Glencairn, a tall ginger guy called Greg Magee was then his assistant trainer. Pat Eddery used to have an association with the stable, can't remember but it may have been where he first rode. McGrath won the Irish Leger when it was a proper classic confined to 3yos with a horse that had got beaten at Bellewstown earlier in the seson, can't remember the name but it was by Le Levenstall. Bellewstown only raced once a year back then, a 2 day midweek afternoon meeting at end of June, they also had a Chase course.

Kelly I remember Fetherstonhaugh, think he trained at the Curragh, he had a brother who was a Solicitor in Mountmellick,Fetherstonhaugh and Carter

MRcombustible , i remember backing that horse , a chesnut if i remember correctly  , wonderfully named , yes Kerr trained it and Parnell rode it ...The Gotchee , you cheeky begger ....

Really enjoyable read lads,loved going racing there,was only 10 minutes walk away from my mams house,only the brave would bet on the photo finish betting back in the good old days,

That's the video I was referring to in my original post The Gotchee.
So I wasn't imagining the different configuration after all!
Cheers.

Great videos gotchee,

I was never at the Phoenix Park racecourse, well considering it was open in my teen years when I went racing to virtually every Curragh, Punchestown and Naas meeting, I wasn't driving at that time, so we basically thumbed a lift to Naas and Punchestown on the Bridge in Newbridge, the days before the motorways, you were guaranteed a lift.

The price of the train ticket to Dublin in those days even though it was only less than a half hour train journey was dearer than it is today if you take inflation into account.

But I do remember backing a horse called Digamist to win the Phoenix stakes, one of Abdullahs and Eddery, if they had the whip rules they have today Pat would've got 6 months, the proverbial lifted home would be an understatement.

Silver Silver you are slipping you are now admitting THE JOCKEY made a difference and a big difference at that!!!!

ANYWAY, away from the repetitive bickering that is spoiling a very good thread.

I am a country man and wouldn't be too familiar with the site of the old Phoenix Park, but I was looking on Google Earth there and most of what was the track still seems to be green? It seems the old parade ring/stands and the loop around the back of that stands is pretty much all that was built on? So sad that such an asset was sold by racing men.

What about Baldoyle? Does anyone have memories of there? Looking at Google Earth again, the vast majority of the old track seems to be there, albeit with minor roads running through it.

Baldoyle was a tight track but overall the place had real character and was a great place especially for a summers evening meeting. Shame it was closed. Never liked the Park tbh. From the stands you never knew whether your horse had won or not. Can understand why people liked it and was very accessible being so near the city centre. A pity both were closed.

Presumably developers . Think some housing association or the like might have been involved .  But I am a long way away so not into FF and the like politics and friends ( which it would have been then ) .

I think the reason it closed was Gainsford St Lawrence who was a director of the Metropolitan Race Company Ltd as was Fred Clarke they were both instremental in the sale St lawrence wanted to develop the hotel and golf course at Deer Park in Howth and Clarke wanted the Bank holiday fixtures for Leopadrstown so Baldoyle was sold the last horse racing there was the Louth Hunt point to point A Michael Hurley published a history of the racecourse  some years ago

Both Flyingbolt and Arkle won at Baldoyle.

Isn't this an amazing statement.
Barry Brogan, who was Dreaper's assistant and stable amateur during the 1965-1966 season and had ridden both Arkle and Flyingbolt in their work. In his autobiography he says:
"In my view Flyingbolt was probably the best horse I ever rode - even better than Arkle. I honestly believe that he would have beaten Arkle in the 1966 Gold Cup if Tom Dreaper had allowed him to run."
In a subsequent interview with the Racing Post in December 2008, more than 25 years after the publication of his autobiography, he re-affirmed his comments when he said, "For all Arkle's brilliance, I felt Flyingbolt was the better horse. If Pat Taaffe was alive, he'd tell you the same."

Flyingbolt made his racecourse debut on 13 May 1963 in a flat race over 12 furlongs at Leopardstown. Starting at 20/1, he finished down the field. He was still immature and needed more time to fill into his massive frame so he was turned out into a field for the summer. His run at Leopardstown would turn out to be his only defeat for the next two and a half years.
He re-appeared at Navan on 9 October 1963 when winning a national hunt flat race by 7 lengths at odds of 8/11 in the hands of top amateur Alan Lillingston. Coincidentally, Arkle won his only ever flat race on the same card just half an hour earlier. After winning his next start on the flat at Leopardstown by 4 lengths with Liam McLoughlin in the saddle, Flyingbolt was switched to hurdles the following month, easily winning his maiden at the Leopardstown Christmas meeting where he was ridden in public for the first time by stable jockey Pat Taaffe who rode him in all of his jump races whilst in the care of Dreaper. He then won the Killester Hurdle at Baldoyle, followed by another facile success in the Scalp Hurdle at Leopardstown, as described by author and journalist, Ivor Herbert; "Flyingbolt, two years Arkle's junior, won the Scalp Hurdle in a canter. What made this astonishing was that the five-year-old was beating older experienced high-class hurdlers on worse terms than in a handicap. It was suddenly evident that Dreaper had not only Ireland's top three mile chaser, but, in the two years younger horse, the best novice hurdler either side of the Irish Sea." From there Flyingbolt headed to Cheltenham where he easily won the Gloucestershire Hurdle, consolidating his position as the top novice hurdler in Britain and Ireland. Later that same week, Arkle beat Mill House to win the first of his 3 consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cups.

Probably just giving him a quiet one Gotchee......

Arkle's early forays partly showed up how difficult it is sometimes to know the worth of horses . On reflection Arkle was not a winner at Baldoyle , but I couldn't have told you Flyingbolt ever ran there either .

Given the economics of racing , Frankel would never have run at Catterick would he ? Different times too then .

I'm pretty certain Arkle won a hurdle race at Gowran - I had him backed and he started 9/2 (probably had a shilling on him - money was scarce then and I was just out of short pants). BB liked being controversial alright so would not be certain he believed it but there were some who did.

I remember the first day Arkle won , at 20/1 . Dreaper stable had the fav in the race as I recall , up pops this one from nearly "below the line " , rush to displayed papers to see who trains it ..Dreaper . Mutterings not unlike some we see on here .  But Dreapers stable were not noted for being a gambling stable so it was not a big deal .  Subsequent events were though .  Little did we know .

Might have a look if I can hit it , the gotchee , but later .

Aye, RIP to Johnny,his often quiet style of riding (reminded me a bit of Cash Asmussen) sometimes drew ire from the punters but he had a way of getting the most out of horses without going ballistic with the stick.