JACQUI HURLEY enjoyed a sporting occasion as a regular fan for once as she sampled the Punchestown Festival with friends.
Ordinarily she’s chairing debates on either The Sunday Game or RTE’s rugby coverage.
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So a chance to be a regular punter meant she was on to a winner from the jump.
The Cork woman shared a pair of pics alongside her fellow Kilmacud Crokes GAA club members.
She has been an active member of the south Dublin giants for several years having settled in the area with husband Shane and their two children.
And it was another RTE presenter who wound up stealing the show on Day One of the five-day extravaganza.
Jane Mangan got to turn from interviewer to interviewee as she joined her parents in the winners’ enclosure.
Jimmy and Mary had readied Spillane’s Tower for success under jockey Mark Walsh, in the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase.
This prompted a lovely moment where Jane joined dad, mam and owner JP McManus for a merry chat with colleague Brian Gleeson.
Jimmy was quick to pass on the bulk of the praise to the Limerick billionaire for blessing them with such a star horse.
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McManus made the call despite them not having trained a top-level winner in 16 years prior to the 5/2 shot’s win at Fairyhouse on Easter Sunday.
He said: “JP, what a man for racing. Without the ammunition, you can’t fire the gun.
“There’s nothing like this, it’s a wonderful game.
“For the McManus’ to breed the horse and everything is the icing on the cake. I’m delighted to be delivering the goods for them.
“He looked the real deal (when I got him) and I said ‘if there’s an engine inside that body, we’re away’.
“Thankfully, there is. What an engine he’s got, he’s got class to burn.
“I was confident, we’ve never lost confidence in this horse. He’s only six and hopefully his future is well ahead of him.
“He dealt with that (ground) fine but I wouldn’t like to run him on tight ground, as he’s a big horse.
“It was my worry all week and I was delighted to see it rain.
“He had won here during the winter on heavy ground and I wouldn’t like to chance him on firm ground. When the rain came, I had no excuses.
“We had tried him at two miles but he was telling us all the time that he wanted further.
“He won at two-and-a-half and he was always going away at the finish.
“We can dream during the summer now, hopefully all goes well and we’ll be looking forward to the autumn.
“I was coming near to the end of the road but this really puts me back on the motorway again! All the big days are special, but Punchestown is special.”
