Two decades on from Dun Doire’s Cheltenham glory

Kevin Dowd recalls a very special day for the Dunderry parish

“Then Ruby says go and the rest you all know, Dun Doire took off like Sir Ivor, He stormed up that hill Juvenigner felt the chill, He is led with a grin by the Frogger, Oh oh oh oh I wish I was back in Dunderry” A verse from the song ‘Ballad of Dun Doire’ which was recited many times in Dunderry during the celebrations in the aftermath of the horse's victory at the 2006 Cheltenham Festival.

Cheltenham is known for being the pinnacle of National Hunt racing but it also has a real tendency to create fantastic storylines and memories for those lucky enough to be involved with a winner there.

Kevin Dowd, as one of the owners involved with Dun Doire, is one of the lucky few who have experienced walking in to winners enclosure at the festival.

“He was our first horse and we were all quite young at the time. Barry Callaghan and Tony (Martin) were good friends. Myself, Keith Callaghan, Damien Clarke, Evan Stephens, Tony Cregan, Kevin Brady, Terry McDonagh and Barry were all involved. We had a choice of two horses at the time and we picked Dun Doire because he was €5,000 cheaper. We went in and got the few quid out of the Credit Union and away we went. We had to take it easy with him in the early days because he was a biggish horse and he took time to fully develop,” explained Dowd.

The lads involved with Dun Doire were just happy to be going to Cheltenham in March 2006. Not many people gave the horse much of a chance in the race that was then referred to as The William Hill Trophy, now called the National Hunt Chase.

“We were delighted just to be going to Cheltenham. We couldn’t even dream about winning the race. Harvey (Tony Martin) was fairly confident that he had him bang on and that he was well handicapped. He was 50/1 a few weeks before the race and nobody was giving him much of a chance. Lads probably didn’t think he would have the speed to finish strong in a race like that,” said Dowd.

Ruby Walsh’s career in the saddle may be remembered for his partnerships with the likes of Kauto Star, Hurricane Fly, Faugheen, Annie Power and so on but in terms of individual rides, there weren’t many as good as the spin he got on Dun Doire that day at Prestbury Park.

“It was probably the best ride ever given to a horse at Cheltenham. The patience that Ruby (Walsh) had that day, I don't think any other jockey would be as patient on him. We were up on the stand and during the race we couldn’t see a bit of the horse," continued Dowd.

"There was a few locals and I’d say they were thinking ‘what the feck is that lad doing over here’, that is how far back he was. As they said in the reports after, ‘He came from the next parish’. The second-last fence was omitted and they say that helped him make up a lot of ground. He was a brilliant jumper though and I think if had jumped it he might have won by more.”

As Dowd explains, Tony Martin had Walsh well informed on how he wanted the horse to be ridden.

“Ruby also would have had the instructions from Tony to not push him until the last furlong. I think Tony gave him a point on the track to start pushing him. Tony knew if there was enough in the tank at that stage that he would pick up and get momentum when the rest of the field started to get tired,” explained Dowd.

“For the community here in Dunderry, it was very special. Everyone had the horse backed. I seen a picture after of a kitchen table just covered in cash belonging to lads in the area that won big on him. We were mad to get back to Dunderry and enjoy the celebrations here. We stayed in Cheltenham that night and went to the King's Arms to start the celebrations. It was just mahem after that.”

The syndicate still travel to Cheltenham every year and whenever they go they are always reminded of the special memories created there 20 years ago.

“We haven’t missed Cheltenham since. We go over every year with Noel Moran, he looks after us and we have a bit of craic. We would rather our three or four days at Cheltenham than a sun holiday. It always brings back all the good memories. It’s just a magical place. The standard has gone through the roof these days and you really need something special to even contemplate going to Cheltenham.”

A 27-year-old Dun Doire now resides at Kevin’s mother in laws’ farm along with several other horses.

In terms of the upkeep of the stables at the family farm, it really is a case of a family affair.

“My mother-in-law, Mary Farnam, gives us the use of the farm, so only for her we would have nowhere to keep him and the rest of the horses that we have. My wife Grainne is brilliant as well she does a lot of work with the horses.

Jack and Tadhg, my two sons, will help out there when they can. My daughter Molly does a lot of work as well. When she flies the nest, I am in big trouble."

Dowd has been heavily involved in the GAA all his life and he is currently the manager of Balivor's footballers.

“They are a great bunch in Ballivor and they let me get on with job. They have a lot of good young lads on the way up that are just mad to play football and hurling. My outlook is that your playing span is very short and that lads should always try and play as much as they can. It’s great to be able to help lads do that.”

As Dowd explained, the GAA connection to Dun Doire was massive and everyone in the syndicate was connected to the club. Some of them even wore the green and gold of Meath.

“Some lads around here will tell you that Dun Doire and the celebrations finished a few lads' football careers! I don’t know about that, but all the lads that were involved were all mad into the GAA.

"Terry (McDonagh) played midfield with PJ Gillic on the Meath minor team, Damien (Clarke) was involved with a few Meath teams as well. Barry (Callaghan) of course, won All-Irelands. Evan Stephens captained to us to an Intermediate Championship. So yeah, we were all heavily involved in the GAA.”

This year at Cheltenham, there will hopefully be plenty of success for Meath horses. However, it is very unlikely that there will be a story as special as Dun Doire.

His success in the 2006 William Hill Trophy will live long in the memory of those within the parish.