COLM MURRAY has covered the Cheltenham festival for RTÉ for more than two decades and continues to work in a research and editing capacity at the station despite having been diagnosed with motor neurone disease two years ago.
However, he had an extra interest on the first day of racing yesterday. Murray had hoped that a horse in which he has an interest, Sweet My Lord,would run this year but it was not to be: it had to be pulled out last week due to a minor injury.
Then came an intervention by trainer Philip Rothwell and horse owners Niamh Rothwell and Ashleigh Gault-Murphy, who offered to run their horse, Tally Em Up, under Murray’s name in the Glenfarclas Cross-Country Chase.
The grey mare, sporting Murray’s colours (green, white and gold) came in fifth but this did not dampen Murray’s mood.
In a post on the RTÉ website the broadcaster thanked the trainer and owners, saying it had been “a bit of craic for the day”.
“I backed her each-way at 40/1 and she ran a great race to finish a gallant fifth, but there was no luck for the Irish here at all, as Balthazar King just edged out the brave A New Story in a thrilling finish,” he wrote of the race.
Although he is providing tips to punters via the RTÉ website this year, Murray said, after day one, “I certainly wouldn’t get a gold medal for my tipping but as they say in racing . . . tomorrow is another day!”
His wife Anne said her husband had thoroughly enjoyed the race and described Mr Rothwell’s action as a “friendly, kind gesture”.
She added that Murray continued to show “remarkable spirit” despite his condition. “He still has a great spirit and zest for life and a huge interest in racing.”
In an earlier post the broadcaster wrote that he had seldom missed the Cheltenham festival since he first covered it for the station in 1990: “I missed it because of foot-and-mouth in 2001 and the other was 2009, when RTÉ cutbacks dictated that I had to stay at home.
“My last festival was in March 2010, about two weeks before I was diagnosed with motor neurone disease.”