Come See Arkle Memorabilia At Downpatrick Races

Another exciting season of horse racing awaits us at Downpatrick racecourse as the a season starts with a tremendous opportunity to view some exciting sporting history from the the world’s best ever racehorse.

“The Downpatrick fixture on Wednesday 4 March next week will feature a rare opportunity with the course providing ‘The Arkle Years Memorabilia Display’ courtesy of life-long fan of “Himself “ – Nick O’Toole – who has generously allowed the County Down track to display Arkle items collected over several decades.

“Nick O’Toole originally lived beside Leopardstown racecourse prior to his current location at Naas and it was one his first ever visit to his then local track with his father to see Arkle win the Leopardstown Chase in 1966 that began a lifetime’s passion for the Greatest Ever Steeplechaser in Ireland or Britain.

O’Toole witnessed Arkle’s third victory in the ultra-prestigious Leopardstown Chase while in the same year the great horse completed his third victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The display will comprise numerous items linked to Arkle’s major race wins and the racecourse hopes that several of the people closely associated with the horse will attend the event including members of the Dreaper and Taaffe families.

“The Tom Dreaper trained horse won 27 of his 35 starts and won at distances from 1m 6f up to 3m 5f. The Great Racing commentator Peter O’Sullevan has called Arkle “a freak of nature – something unlikely to be seen again” and that has proven true. Arkle was rated 212 by the World’s most respected rating organisation, Timeform, and no horse in recent times has managed to achieve a figure in excess of 200.

“Racegoers at the meeting will, free of any cost, be privileged to view the remaining items of O’Toole’s collection with Arkle’s owner, the Duchess of Westminster’s family, having bought many items when auctioned at Sotheby’s. They intend their display to show at the National Horse Racing Museum at Newmarket.

“Nick O’Toole has also generously supplied a framed print of the great horse which will be available to the public via a raffle and all proceeds with go to the Irish Injured Jockeys Association while a very special “Collector’s Edition” race card will be produced on the day featuring a supplement with full statistics, stories and photographs of Arkle.

“The Irish Jockeys Association, the European Breeders Fund, Northern Region of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association, JP Mc Manus’ Martinstown Stud, Irish Stallion Farms and the new racecourse caterers, Posh Nosh are included in the sponsors at the meeting while gates open to the public at 12.45pm and first race at 2.35pm.”

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