Bellewstown raceday in memory of Barney Curley raises €104,000 for his charity

The Barney Curley raceday at Bellewstown last September has raised €104,000 for the legendary punter's Dafa charity.

Frankie Dettori was the guest of honour on the day and, fittingly, the long-time friend of Curley won the feature race on the Johnny Murtagh-trained Trueba, much to the delight of the crowd who created a carnival atmosphere.

Curley was closely associated with Bellewstown after pulling off one of racing’s greatest betting coups at the track in June 1975 when Yellow Sam won at 20-1.

Watch Frankie Dettori steer Trueba to success at Bellewstown

He set up Direct Aid for Africa (Dafa) in 1996 to support the underprivileged people of Zambia and a chunky contribution of €104,000 has been made to the charity.

Barney's daughter Catherine Curley said: "On behalf of our chairman Andrew Montague, our secretary Vincent Maguire and the entire Direct Aid for Africa family, we would like to express our gratitude to Bellewstown racecourse for the brilliant day last September, all in memory of my dad, Barney.

"The generosity shown was remarkable and €104,000 will make a real difference to Dafa’s key projects. The participation of Frankie Dettori and his fellow jockeys Shane Kelly, Jamie Spencer, Tom Queally along with all the Irish-based riders and trainers will live long in the memory. Direct Aid for Africa are really excited that Bellewstown are already planning another special event for Dafa next year."

Alan Delany, Bellewstown committee member and fundraising co-ordinator, added: "Bellewstown racecourse was delighted to play a part in raising €104,000 at the Barney Curley’s Dafa charity raceday last September. We received unbelievable support and generosity from all our sponsors and racegoers, and it was great to witness such a buzz around the enclosures.

"Everyone had a wonderful day for a wonderful charity, and we are already working on plans to bring Frankie and the guys back next year to continue supporting Barney Curley’s great charity."

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