The focus of attention this week switched to Tralee, but the hearts and minds of everyone within the industry remained fixed on Castlebar Hospital and the plight of Jimmy Mansell.
The promising 19-year-old rider was badly injured following a terrible fall at Ballinrobe on Sunday 25th August and is still in a critical, but stable condition.
Mansell sustained serious head injuries in the fall and was kept on a life-support machine until Thursday, but is now breathing normally, although he remains heavily sedated.
Turf Club Medical Officer Dr Walter Halley has been in regular contact with the Hospital by phone and said on Sunday: 'He is not fully conscious, but has shown slight improvement in the last 24 hours. His responses have improved and he has been reacting to members of his family and Hospital staff'. Halley had explained earlier in the week that: 'Jimmy is still in the early stages of recovery'.
The long road to recovery for Jimmy will no doubt be a hard one, but withthe unrequited support of his peers he can put this episode of his life behind him.
A further shadow was cast over proceedings at Tralee when pilot David Reid was tragically killed when his helicopter crashed en-route to the track on Wednesday. The Dublin man was ferrying connections of Frank Ennis' Askthejudge to and from nearby Farranfore airport, but went off course in fog and hit a mountain.
Some good news from the week was the return to the winners' enclosure of Norman Williamson. The victory of Find The King on Saturday was the rider's first winner since breaking his leg at Punchestown over four months ago.
Stable lads had a problem with their canteen on the opening day of Tralee. There was no hot food on offer and considering the length of journey for most heading to Kerry this was unacceptable. Racecourse Manager Tim Griffin was, to his credit, quick to rectify the situation once it had come to his attention. There have been similar problems at Killarney in the past and Listowel does not appear much better. When contacted during the week a spokesperson for Listowel admitted that the only hot food available in the canteen during the festival would be soup.
Sunday's meeting at the Curragh lacked some of its normal lustre due to the total absence of Ballydoyle runners. Reach For The Moon was the only Aidan O'Brien runner declared for the meeting, but she was announced as a non-runner on Saturday morning- coughing. One man not complaining is owner/breeder Sean Coughlan who bred the first two fillies home in the Group1 Moyglare Stud Stakes.
