Vol. 2 No. 1 - Modernist Magazines Project

63 FAIRYHOUSE
gruelling part of the race : a long up-hill pull with big,
high fences all the way to the very horizon. And when
the mounts and riders are mere silhouettes against the
skyline they swing right-handed, negotiate a towering
obstacle and begin their journey homewards. The going
here is downhill, but there is a big hedge-and-drop that
has a decided flavour of Aintree about it. Three more
fences bring them to a long low-lying stretch of the course.
In wet weather this can be very holding ; and if stamina
is not a horse's strong point this may be his undoing :
for there is a real Aintree rasper rushing to meet him. It
is five feet high, three feet thick and the nearest thing to
hedge solidarity one could imagine. Not at all the type
of fence with which a tiring horse should argue. Two
more fences bring those of the field that are still on their
legs to the entrance to The Straight.
If horses are capable of putting two and two together
they must realise then that their cross-country journey
has not been mere routine exercise. Human beings on
either side of them are cheering frenziedly. If the horses
can recognise their names, those names are being cheered
home by thousands of excited voices. By the time the last
obstacle is cleared the entire countryside seems to have
taken leave of its senses. The furore reaches crescendo
as the animals thunder past the Stands. There is a white
post with a red circle on top. One horse reaches it, strides
past, earns £1,000 for his owner and the Irish Grand
National is over.
Such an enticing sum was not available in days past.
Going back to the era of waggonettes and broughams, the
prize-money was £200. I gain my information from the
library of a friend who is fortunate enough to own the
complete set of volumes of The Irish Racing Calendar since
the first slim edition was published one hundred and
fifty-two years ago ! Choosing the edition of a quarter of a
century ago, I find that ' All Sorts ' won at five-to-one by
twelve lengths from ' Punch/ with ' Ruddygore' a further