Surprise Package is running in the 5.30 at Killarney tonight and it is to be hoped he is in better shape than his owner this morning. I made two mistakes last night: one was to go to the races; the other was to not turn off my phone when having dinner. Please let me elaborate:

Until last night, Killarney was one of just three courses in Ireland that I had not visited (the other two are Laytown and Downpatrick). I went last night to support Insane Bolt (finished 3rd) ; not so much because he’s trained by Peter but more because he is owned by the ironically named Normal People Syndicate. This is comprised mainly of various members of the Fahey/Leigh (Ber’s side) family and Kim and I were introduced to a small selection at Galway when Insane Bolt ran there on the Thursday. We had a good time then with Joanne and Brian and were delighted to check Twitter on our flight home and see that Insane Bolt had come out again and won on the Sunday. Cue raucous celebrations back in Galway and a new concept for you: FOBI

FOBI actually may only be relevant to the Fahey/Leigh group as they are inveterate party people and know how to have a good time. The Galway celebrations lasted for 12 hours and well into the morning. I said to Ber “I can only imagine” and she said very definitively “Oh I don’t think you can!”. I am sure she’s right and, on reflection, feel relieved that Kim and I left town well in advance. That sense of relief got me thinking: “what is the antonym for FOMO (fear of missing out)?” and that is how I came up with FOBI: Fear of being Included.

I have, over the years, been clever enough to know that a Fahey early night means 4am so my FOBI reflex has often kicked in with ever more crazy excuses. I can’t explain what I was thinking last night when Ber WhatsApped me and said “Peter and Brian (different Brian) are up for a pint if you are”

Now, I know that Peter and Ber live in a world where only plurals exist so did not take the “a pint” comment literally but I figured “it’s 9.30 – they won’t be here until 10pm and last orders are 11 so how bad can it be?” It was bad!

My fault really. I really shouldn’t stay in hotels with resident lounges! We finished drinking at 1.30 and were getting ready to leave when the night porter said those fateful but teasing words: “any last orders?” I blame him for reducing my sleep by another hour!

Anyway, back to my underwhelming Killarney racecourse experience. I asked a steward : “ where do Owners and Trainers go?” and he responded with a straight face and totally correctly: “behind the stand where the horseboxes and stable yard are”

They ought to make more effort at Killarney. Wherever in Ireland you start, it takes until tomorrow to get there, the stands are mainly open to the elements despite it being in one of the wettest parts of Ireland and, last night, after a recount came up with there being three bookmakers. There is very little space to sit. I am not sure how we would even go about celebrating there but hope we can face that problem at 5.40pm this evening.

He must have a good chance. We are getting some rain right now so the ground will be perfect for him. He’s in great form and my biggest concern is that 2m 7 furlongs is probably a couple of furlongs longer than ideal. Then again, Killarney’s an easy enough track so we should get away with it. I think the biggest danger is Desir Du Large. I can’t really work out his form: his win at Galway was in a poor race and he didn’t ‘do a tap’ in front. It was his first run over a longer distance and he seemed to be suited by it. His rating is similar to ours and he has Shane Fitzgerald claiming his seven pound allowance and he’s great value for that claim as he’s a really promising rider. Nonetheless, we are very hopeful.

I should mention, just in case, that the owner of Edison Kent is also very hopeful. Laurence Byrne was the owner of three time Cheltenham winner For Auction and, more recently, Total Recall . He joined us for the last 30 minutes last night/this morning and was very bullish about his horse’s chance. I don’t see it myself but who knows?

I was over at the yard early yesterday and saw Freedom to Dream cantering. He’s a tank of a horse but seems to be doing everything well on his road to a racecourse return. There’s still a long way to go but, right now, he has me and Peter excited about the future.

But, I digress, the future is now! Here’s to a win today and no FOBI about that!