Fine Gael leader Mr Michael Noonan cut a lonely figure as he wandered around the Galway Races meeting yesterday. Several party colleagues were reported to be among the crowd at Ballybrit but The Irish Times could find none of them.
There was no missing the Fianna Fail team. They were out in force as usual. The Taoiseach was there: "Try keeping him away," said a Ballybrit official. And so were Seamus Brennan, John O'Donoghue, and Charlie McCreevy to name but a few.
"Racing's not really a Fine Gael thing but those Fianna Fail boys, it's in their blood," remarked a punter.
Brian Cowen had just that morning launched a blueprint to save the Northern peace process at a press conference in Hillsborough, Co Down. He had flown down speedily: "I couldn't miss the Galway races. Isn't the craic great?" he said.
He was supporting Grimes, the 4-1 joint favourite for the big race, the £100,000 Compaq Galway Plate. "He's the right weight and he has a great chance if he jumps well," reckoned Mr Cowen. Did he know what the Taoiseach was on? "I'd be surprised if Bertie even had a bet. He's far too cautious for that."
The former Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, was on Grimes too. So was Mr Noonan. Indeed, almost everybody in Ballybrit seemed to be supporting the horse. Even gardai on duty had an opinion.
Sgt Tom Duffy said he was the "only horse in the race" though Supt Tony Finnerty had a liking for Francis Bay.
They also disagreed over the female fashion on display. "There's a lot of purple about, it's the current in-colour and it's great," said Supt Finnerty. Sgt Duffy liked the warmer colours. "I prefer reds and oranges. The wife wears a lot of dark colours so brighter ones are nice for a change. Some of the fashions on show today are very pleasing to the eye."
The officers were pleased that the racing festival had so far been trouble free. "There have been no problems at all," said Supt Finnerty.
"The race-goers are very well behaved and there has been no heavy-handed policing from us. This is an annual holiday for many people. We don't want to be kill-joys."
The Irish Times was even invited to verify this first-hand by inspecting the Garda office at Ballybrit. A local newspaper reported that more than 30 prostitutes had arrived in Galway to cash in on race week. "There's a lot of hype in these stories," said Supt Finnerty.
A warning came over the public address system about pickpockets. "The politicians must be on the loose," sniped a punter.
One law-abiding and well-behaved politician present was the SDLP's director of communication, Tim Attwood, who even managed to back a few winners. "I made a nice sum on Best Grey in a hurdle race earlier," he said.
In the champagne tent, the movers and shakers of Irish society sipped Dom Perignon at £100 a bottle. A group of businessmen from Newry, Co Down, complained about the price of flying by helicopter from the Connemara coast to Ballybrit.
"It's £120 return," said Peter Fitzpatrick. "That makes it the most expensive short helicopter ride in the world. I've done Nice to Monte Carlo and everybody thinks it's bad at £100."
"Back home, you can get a spin in a helicopter for nothing," said Patrick Aiken, noting one previously unacknowledged "benefit" of living near the heavily militarised south Armagh border.