Realtin Fantasy keeping Eugene O'Donnell's show on the road

A little all-aged sprint maiden at Tipperary on a Tuesday night would not usually pass without more than a cursory mention, much less produce a piece of television so heartwarming that it managed to unite even the most cynical of the sport's commentariat.

It came through the avuncular figure of Eugene O’Donnell who was at first holding back tears, his mare Realtin Fantasy having finally broken her duck at the age of six, jogging his memory over a joyous association with her relatives through three decades.

The owner-breeder-lorry driver would go on to rib Racing TV’s Kevin O’Ryan and canter through the great horses from his time as David O’Brien’s travelling head groom, all in a six-minute video steeped with gratitude, passion and glorious turns of phrase which has been viewed almost 250,000 times.