The final festival of the season took place at Killarney Races last weekend where the weather certainly played its part. OctoberFest delivered a fun-filled programme with good crowds, spectacular views, top-class racing and a superb atmosphere, here are some of the highlights.

On Saturday, a flat card took centre stage for a crowd of enthusiastic racegoers. On the track, the first race of the day certainly set the tone for an enjoyable weekend as the Son of Galileo,  Gulf of Mexico rose to the challenge and cross the line to a rapturous cheer from the crowd. Trained by A P O’Brien, Gulf of Mexico makes it a third time lucky in The Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden.

Later in the day, there was excitement from Molly’s Gamble as Danny Gilligan secured the win for the Never Give Up Syndicate in the Boyle Sports Best Odds Guaranteed apprentice handicap. Local businesses JJ Galvin, Killarney Park Hotel and Kelleher’s Toyota Garage, all got involved kindly sponsoring races on the days card. Kelleher’s Toyota bought along some of their new cars to put on show for the weekend, allowing racegoers to take a closer look at their new Rav-4, Land Cruiser or Aygo to name a few.

Sunday was national hunt race day with seven exciting races over jumps. TOTE kindly sponsored three races with the feature race on the day being The SP or Better Guaranteed with TOTE rated Novice Hurdle, where Toss Again took home the gold. Jockey Simon Torrens and Buttons And Bows battled on tenaciously delivering a successful win for the Vince Casey Life and Pensions Handicap. The crowd and good weather certainly added to the atmosphere on the day.

Killarney Racecourse Chairman, Gerard Coughlan commented “What a lovely meeting Octoberfest turned out to be, it was a great two day meeting that was thoroughly enjoyed by all with some fantastic winners. We are delighted to announce Killarney Races have been allocated a floating fixture next Monday, 10 October which will bring an end the season here at our racecourse. I would like to thank all our patrons, supporters and sponsors and the horse-racing industry without whom racing would not be possible.”

Next year, Killarney Races will bring you four festivals to enjoy over the months of May, July, August and October. Killarney Racecourse boasts the title of Ireland’s most scenic racecourse, so why not join us and see it for yourself, the team at Killarney Races are already looking forward to welcoming you along.