RACING RETURNS to Bettyville Park on Friday next, July 2, with a very interesting all national hunt racecard down for decision.

With a 'goodish' weather forecast over the coming week, the ground will be on the quick side of good by all accounts, so horses that like to listen to their hooves rattle should be preferred in the betting ring. With a start time of 6.05 p.m., racing opens with a mares' maiden hurdle, followed by a similar event for geldings, prior to the running of the Nick O'Donnell Memorial Handicap Hurdle.

With the hurdlers taken care of, the chasers take centre stage with two handicap chases and a beginners' chase being staged, with racing concluded by a bumper at 9.05 pm.

With the Bellewstown Festival meeting in Co. Meath the only other Irish meeting on the same evening, hopes are high that the jump racing enthusiasts will be out in force to support the meeting on a predicted beautiful summer's racing.

Not all the emphasis will be on the horses, however, with a real touch of glamour being promised with a Wexford best dressed lady competition being staged on the evening. With a TV3 personality as celebrity judge and a plentiful supply of wine and vouchers, this promises to be a real evening of glitz and glamour.

With admittance to the racecourse free for all women once they present an Irish Daily Mirror voucher on the evening, a bumper crowd is expected.

SWEEPSTAKES WIN

New Ross woman, Mairéad Crowe, was the talk of the town and The Curragh last weekend as she won half a million euro with 'Brushed Aside' in the National Lottery Sweepstakes race over six furlongs. The three-year-old 'Oasis Dream' filly, trained by Dermot Weld, owned by Khaled Abdullah and ridden by Pat Smullen, was selected as Mairéad's horse in the first running of the National Lottery Sweepstakes.

The winning ticket was purchased in Nolan's on South Street in New Ross for ¤20 and her selection guaranteed her ¤10,000 irrespective of where her horse finished. With 'Invincible Ash' winning the race, and a cool ¤1m for her lucky Co. Sligo sweepstakes owner, Mairéad's horse finished second and makes her half a million richer. Not a bad investment for ¤20!

O'BRIEN'S 1-2-3

Aidan O'Brien continues to break the records and he added another one by being the first trainer in history to win the Irish Derby, run on Sunday last, for the fifth time in a row.

Saddling five of the ten runners, O'Brien sent 'At First Sight', 'Bright Horizon', 'Cape Blanco', 'Jan Vermeer' and 'Midas Touch' into the fray. With stable jockey Johnny Murtagh surprising many during the week by selecting the Prix De Jockey Club flop, 'Cape Blanco', instead of ' Midas Touch' or 'Jan Vermeer', whispers on the racecourse on the day saw the Englishtrained 'Monterosso' backed into favouritism.

With his pacemakers in place, the Ballydoyle yard led all the way, with 'Cape Blanco', a three-year-old by 'Galileo', coming out on top in a close finish from 'Midas Touch' and 'Jan Vermeer'. This was the horse's first win in a Group 1 contest and, given his dam line, he did well to see out the full mile and a half of the Derby on a very stiff course.

ROYAL ASCOT REVISITED

Referring back to O'Brien's Royal Ascot performance, it seems that the Queen Of England, Elizabeth the Second, presented the leading trainer's award to Richard Hannon, who also trained three winners but had three more second places to his credit than O'Brien.

With O'Brien winning more stakes money as a trainer than anyone else during the week and no one else training as many winners himself, it seemed that he was the most successful trainer, but not according to Royal Ascot rules. But rules are rules and if we are not to cause a diplomatic incident prior to the Queen of England's proposed visit to Ireland next year, let's be clear - Richard Hannon was the 2010 leading trainer at Royal Ascot.

Not to miss the opportunity, why don't racing authorities locally try to ensure that her visit could include a trip to the races at Bettyville in 2011 and maybe present the leading trainer award there - sure why not?

KILBEGGAN WINNER

Conor O'Dwyer's yard was the centre of a gamble at Kilbeggan on June 21 when his 'D Four Dave', a six-year-old 'Noverre' gelding, landed a huge orchestrated gamble to take the threemile handicap hurdle.

The execution of the plan was well documented over the past week, but O'Dwyer should take a bow in getting the horse to the track fit, ready to run and landing the gamble for connections.

- With DickWhite