Curragh set for grey race *

Katie Walsh and Thousand Stars image: racingpost.com

GREY horses capture the imagination of the public in a way that few other horses can. Their silvery tones have a magnetic quality that draws people to them and the Curragh racecourse is hoping that their popularity will draw the crowds to the races on 26 August for the first ever race just for grey horses in Ireland.

The greys only race is one of ten races that the Irish Field will sponsor at the Curragh during the upcoming flat season, starting with the first meeting on 25 March.

Evan Arkwright, commercial manager of the Curragh racecourse, is hopeful that this unusual race will pique the interest of race goers.

“People seem to love grey horses and they are not particularly common. People always seem to support them and grey horses attract people to come to the races. A race for grey horses has been taking place in Newmarket racecourse in England for a few years. It seemed to catch the public’s imagination and we are always looking for initiatives that will catch the public’s interest,” Evan explained.

That Newmarket race which inspired this Irish version was first run in August 2003 and is a six furlong sprint for grey horses. It regularly attracts large fields and big crowds to watch their favourite coloured horses.

The details of the Irish race are still being worked out between the Curragh and Horse Racing Ireland but they hope to frame the race to attract the largest amount of grey horses possible.

The rarity of grey horses means that supersitions surround them. Seeing a grey horse on the way to her wedding is meant to bring good luck to a bride and the luckiest horse shoe of all is one from the hind leg of a grey mare.

Thousand Stars is one of the best grey horses in training. The dual Grade One winning hurdler won the County Hurdle at the 2010 Cheltenham Festival. His jockey that day was Katie Walsh and she says the rarity of grey horses is what draws people to them.

“Everyone always falls for that grey horse. The public looks at them and thinks they look lovely. There are loads of bay, brown and chestnut horses in racing but very few greys. It’s very rare that you’ll be at the start of a race and look around and see four or five greys together. People like grey horses and the race will be a good spectacle.”

*This articel first appeared in The Nationalist on 6 March 2012