Fun-filled week ahead in Ballybrit
It is full steam ahead in Galway for their imminent summer week of racing, running from Monday, July 31st to Sunday, August 6th inclusive.
The team there have also announced their new Let’s Be Having You Galway podcast series, which is available on all podcast apps.
The new six-episode series offers listeners a ringside seat, featuring indepth interviews with some of the leading figures in the racing industry. The podcast has host Paul Collins pose questions to the likes of Davy and Edelle Russell, Gordon Elliott, Patrick Mullins and Noel Meade, as they discuss their passion for horse racing, the challenges they’ve faced in their careers, and their most fancied runners and choices for the Galway Festival.
The series will also feature an extended interview with Galway football manager Padraic Joyce, in which the dual All-Ireland winner reflects on his relationship with the Festival, as well as the stresses and strains of balancing management of the All-Ireland contenders with the everyday running of his business.
In the opening episode, jockey Davy Russell shares his journey to winning the Grand National with Tiger Roll in 2018, and offers an insight into the health hazards presented by a life in racing. Russell is joined by his wife Edelle as they reveal the family obsession with racing, their love of the Galway Festival, and their own and their children’s involvement in breeding and selling horses.
Contributions
Other contributions come from Tom Rudd, the Irish Grand National-winning jockey and general manager of Limerick Racecourse; Stephen Cunningham, a Galway races superfan; Mary Davin, a local businesswoman and style guru; and Michael O’Donoghue, a steward and 40-year veteran of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, now on the brink of retirement.
Television presenter and former amateur jockey Jane Mangan will join Paul Collins to discuss her transition from racing to broadcasting with RTE and Racing TV, while personal branding and communications specialist Áine Killilea is also on hand to take listeners down memory lane, back to when she fell in love with the races at age three and her father ran the oyster and Guinness tent at Ballybrit.
This year Galway launches a fun and engaging initiative, Clarkes-Cam, for the seven days of the Summer Festival. With content creator Alan Clarke at the helm for the week, looking after the audience cam, this is something you don’t want to miss, and it is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Stay tuned!
Most stylish
Friday’s Most Stylish competition enters its eleventh year with Athlone Towncentre, taking place on August 4th from 4pm. It is expected to be one of the biggest gatherings of race-going fashion lovers to date on the fifth day of the festival.
Judges for the competition are television personality and creative director, Arthur Gourounlian, fashion stylist and racing style presenter, Marietta Doran, alongside Shirley Delahunt, general manager of Athlone Towncentre.
Together they will seek out the best style efforts on the day, with a focus on women who bring their own personal touch to accessible high street pieces. This year sees the biggest prize fund on offer, with a shop and stay break courtesy of Athlone Towncentre. The winner will leave Galway with a €2,000 Athlone Towncentre gift card, a luxury two-night break in the four-star Sheraton Athlone Hotel with dinner and spa treatments, and a €500 voucher for Fields The Jeweller, who are one of the many retailers located in Athlone Towncentre.
AIR wish the Galway Race Committee, Michael Moloney, Sinead and all the team at Galway Races the very best for their upcoming meeting.
