The sporting focus this week (Tuesday through Friday at least) is on the Cheltenham Racing Festival, the highlight of which is the Gold Cup on Friday (3.30pm).
Willie Mullins will saddle the favourite, Galopin Des Champs, while another strong Irish contender is Fastorslow for trainer Martin Brassil. Gordon Elliot’s Gerri Colombe too will have its share of supporters.
Also in the field is Hewick, purchased for a just a few hundred euro and handled by John ‘Shark’ Hanlon.
A Limerick interest in the feature, which carries a winners’ prize of £350,000 (€409,000), is on outsider The Real Whacker, jointly-owned (with others in the UK) by popular businessman Davy Mann of Rathkeale and Newcastle West.
The Real Whacker is trained by now Yorkshire-based Pat Neville, an old friend of Mr Mann’s from their school days in Ballysteen.
The 16-runners will tackle a course that runs to 3m2f.
Rathkeale trainer Eric McNamara had Noble Birth and Alpesh Amin entered in the Pertemps Final on Thursday.
