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A punter had the “biggest win of the day” when he got down on one knee and proposed to his long-term girlfriend at the Galway Races.
Conor McDonald, 31, from Bournemouth, surprised race goers in the parade ring when he got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend, Emily Fennell, at Wednesday’s race meeting.
The 27-year-old, from Ennis in Co Clare, was absolutely shocked when Conor proposed in the parade ring at the Ballybrit racecourse.
The couple, who have been together for seven years, are both teachers living and working in the UK and come to the Galway Races every year.
Conor told the Irish Mirror: “I like the limelight and I thought, what better place. We come every year. We met in Australia about six years ago, seven years ago now, and Emily’s from Ennis, we come home every summer.
“I’m a teacher at home. Come here as a highlight of the trip. I thought she’s due it, like,” he said jokingly.
Emily replied: “I’ve put in the graft.”
Conor said: “I spoke to a lovely girl on the phone, actually in hospitality. She kept it under wraps with me. And yeah, and that was it.”
Emily said Conor pretended that he had won a competition to gain access to the parade ring.
“I had no idea. Not a notion.”
Conor said his nerves beforehand were “alright” leading up to the big event, while Emily added: “I didn’t suspect a thing.”
The couple are parents to two young boys and will enjoy their night away at the G Hotel in Galway.
Conor added it was “his biggest win of the week”.
Thousands of horse racing fans gathered for the third day of the Galway Races to watch Western Fold romp home to win the Galway Plate. It’s the horse’s fifth win in this race in the last ten years.
Winning trainer Gordon Elliot said it was like “poetry in motion”.
“He’s the right horse. He was a bit backward when he was young but this race has been in the plan for a while so I’m delighted. Bobby (Ryan) put the syndicate together and everything worked out great.”
He said the horse “jumped like a buck”.
“Everything went right. It was like poetry in motion.”
Elliott said the ground was the key to the horse’s win. He revealed his dad is currently in hospital and he hopes the Galway Plate win will “cheer him up”.
“He’s watching us from hospital today so hopefully that’ll give him a lift.”
Owner Bobby Ryan said he dreamed about the horse winning.
Brian O’Keeffe, spokesperson for BoyleSports, said: “It was a second Galway Plate for local jockey Danny Gilligan and while Western Fold went off a double figure price, he was backed into 11/1 from 20s by some savvy punters.
“It was far from a nightmare result though and we were happy to dodge some big payouts on the horses at the head of the betting.”
Elsewhere, jockey Danny Mullins reacted to his hair going viral during racing week.
Danny, the nephew of champion trainer Willie Mullins, is currently rocking bright red dreads this week. He opened up about the style inspiration behind his new look.
He said: “I’m a big fan of Jimmy Butler and Lewis Hamilton and they’ve always had fairly cool hairstyles. Jimmy Butler got a red hairdo for a Miami Heat basketball game and it was something. So I just went with that.
“And I thought it looked good on him. Maybe not quite as exciting on me but I’d said I’d roll with it anyway.”
Asked about what his father Tony Mullins thinks of his new hair-do, he said: “Questionable, as with my mother as well, but you know once we can get a few winners here this week it’ll be great.”
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