Belle of Belfast City

We overate, over drank, underslept and overbet on underpriced horses, but in the end I finished the meeting only £50 down, thanks mainly to Cork All Star and the distances bet coming in. Wichita Lineman was my only other winner on the final day, but a great time was had at the course on the Friday. The 5AM start and 3AM finish did take their toll, although not as much as the £7.10 pricetag on the fish and chip 'meal deal' at the course. When you add the £3.70 Smirnoff Ice I quaffed by the bottle at The Gallery later in the evening, you can see why the bank loan was needed. And it's a good job I didn't put it all on Ruby to be top jockey!

Non-Racing highlight of the day must be the lunchtime drink in the Irish Bar at Cheltenham Racecourse, where entertainment was provided by an Irish fiddler (a man playing the fiddle, not a peado called Paddy). St Patrick's Day seemed to fall slightly by the wayside after the previous 22 hours partying, although I did manage to squeeze in a couple of Guinness Red in O'Neills while listening to 'Wild Rover' and the crazy 'Belle of Belfast City' song.

Another group who overdrank and underslept are of course the England cricket team. Hopefully Freddie and the boys can stay off the Red Stripe long enough to beat Ireland on Friday. It would be a close call if it were a drinking contest....