I’m not trying to get rich, just enjoy myself': Cork Cheltenham fans enjoy action in Blackpool pub

By the time the frontrunners had cleared the final hurdle in the 4.10 from Cheltenham, the noise in Quinlan’s in Blackpool was deafening. 

The place was thronged and the racing was on every screen. Most of the punters were roaring “Come on Paul” at Paul Townsend on Willie Mullins’s Lossiemouth, although one woman at the bar was shouting for Rachael Blackmore on Telmesomethinggirl. She told The Echo she wouldn’t be giving her name as “I’m not here at all”.

In the end, the race wasn’t even close, with Lossiemouth, the 8-13 favourite, finishing three lengths in front of Telmesomethinggirl, with Hispanic Moon a further nine and a half lengths back in third.

“It’s a simple formula,” Eddie O’Sullivan explained after the race. “Follow Wille Mullins. He gets the winners. Even though they’re short prices, you can’t go against him.” 

He said he was up “a fair amount” for the day, but he cautioned that “tomorrow is another day”, adding that while it was good to beat the bookies, “They don’t often lose”.

His friend Peter Kenneally, a Fair Hill native, agreed, adding glumly: “Me, I didn’t win anything. Not one brown penny”.

Sitting with them and drinking a pint of Lucozade was Michael Montgomery, who said he was on tablets, so he wasn’t able to drink, but the Lucozade would do him just grand. He had two winners in the first and second races, but he hadn’t made any money to speak of.

“I’m not trying to get rich, just enjoy myself, get out of the house in the wheelchair and meet a few people,” he said. “I wouldn’t be a big gambler, just the Grand National now and Cheltenham.” 

John Walsh from Wellington Road said he had won the first four races and was up about €150. 

“If I lose in the first few races, I give up, so I’m having a very good Cheltenham this year.” 

He said his only system is that he gets the paper in the morning and goes through the horses and is guided by whether they won their previous races. “And d’you know what, it works for me. I only bet on Cheltenham. I’ll go back off it after the Gold Cup.” Alan Murphy had had only one bet, a fiver at seven to one, and he had won. “So that was alright,” he laughed.

Over at what they said was their traditional Cheltenham table were Michael Kidney, Brenny Kidney, Tony Kidney, and Shane Foley.

“This is our twelfth year down here, in this exact spot, and our luck is going alright so far,” Shane. “We book the time off work and we make a big occasion out of it.” Asked if he had any tips, Tony Kidney confided that the best tip anyone would ever give you is “Don’t gamble”.

Brenny said she was sure this wasn't their first time featuring in The Echo, "Although we're looking younger every year". She added that the whole group had started with breakfast in The Barn at 8.30am to get a clear run at the day.

Behind the bar, Conor Quinlan was pumping out the pints. He has owned the pub for 25 years and he said Cheltenham would be one of their busiest times of the year.

“This would be nearly as busy as the Christmas, but we put a lot into it, we give them breakfast rolls in the morning and we have food coming at five and a bit of music at six, and that’s every day,” he said.

“There’s a good interest in horseracing here, and there’s still the old-time punter here, going over to the bookies and putting their fiver on instead of the online stuff, so we put a lot into it.” He said he was looking forward to the build-up to the Gold Cup and St Patrick’s weekend. “It’s badly needed,” he added, grinning.