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Why on earth hasn't the British public embraced Sunday racing like the Irish?

There are umpteen oddities I struggle to get my head around in racing. Why horses who give you absolutely everything on the bridle are apparently rogues, yet Deano's Beeno was a hero; how on earth Lord Windermere managed to win a Gold Cup, or even an RSA Chase for that matter; and what exactly were the Sandown stewards looking at when they disqualified Cahervillahow in the Whitbread of 1991.

The latest addition to the oddity list is the British public's aversion to going racing on a Sunday.

Just 13,561 showed up to see the last two winners of the Champion Chase take each other on in the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham last Sunday. The six-race card, which also included a cracking renewal of the Unibet-sponsored Greatwood, was described by the track's regional director Ian Renton as "probably the best Sunday card of the entire year". I would tend to agree with him too.

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Deputy Ireland editor

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