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Novice jockey Laura wows Burt
Races
06.05.08
THE punters of the
North West were out in force over the Bank Holiday
weekend for the first race meeting of the year in
Burt
The organisers may have got a rude awakening to a
heavy drizzle on Sunday morning but by early
afternoon an unseasonal heatwave had settled in and
the first race went ahead as planned around 2pm.
There were whispers of a Nina Carbery-style talent
in the jockeys’ enclosure as the only female rider
of the day, a young teenager from Limerick wowed the
local crowds.
Laura Barry, 15, from Raheen, Co Limerick, came
second and third in her first two races respectively
for Letterkenny trainer Adrian Browne. |
But it was in her third
race – 1˝ miles around the course - that she would
triumph on the Roland Baird trained Tiptoes.
The fresh-faced schoolgirl smiled shyly after her
win - her modesty suggesting she had just emerged
victorious from an egg-and-spoon race rather than a
powerhouse performance steering a 15-hand horse to
victory.
"Yeah, it was great," she said, showing just the
slightest exertion from her winning efforts. "I
started horseriding when I was five but I was doing
jumping first and I only turned to racing about two
years ago." Asked if she had aspirations to become |
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a full-time
professional jockey, she said her studies would have
to come first.
Her dad Dave was delighted with her win in Burt. He
explained that Laura regularly rode out for top
Limerick trainer Eric McNamara in Rathkeal, Co
Limerick. |
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"She loves the racing
but she's a transition year student at Laurel Hill
Secondary School in Limerick City and her studies
will be her first priority for the next while," he
said. Local woman Bernie Wilson from Buncrana was
among the first to congratulate the talented teen.
She and her Dublin friend Joan Moriarty had backed
Tiptoes at 3/1 and were thrilled with their
collective win as much as the fine display of girl
power. Off track, the local |
bookies were in high
spirits - happy to be out in the turf and fresh air
than behind their bookie-shop desks for a change.
There was plenty of craic and jokes too at the
jockeys’ weigh-in booth where the "main man" Dougie
Thompson, chair of the North West Horse and Pony
Board, was to be found along with fellow Derryman,
Uel Adair, secretary of the North West Horse Owners'
Association. Uel, who was recently elected President
of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), kept
the sun from his eyes with his promotional ILCU
baseball cap. Dougie confirmed that Laura Barry had
won €300 as first prize for Baird from Lifford, with
her spectacular display of horsemanship aboard the
trusty Tiptoes. Meanwhile, Mary Malone had travelled
that morning from Co Kildare with her jockey son
Gareth who had seven wins last year in Burt. She
said Burt was among the favourite race meetings in
the country particularly among novice jockeys.
"The horse people up here are so helpful. If you
find yourself short of a bit of tackle they'll help
you out in a minute. Up here, there are more horses
than jockeys so it's a particularly good event for
the novice riders," she said. For more pictures
from the Burt Races
click here
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