Big crowd for Arkle unveiling

There was a big crowd in Ashbourne for the Arkle statue when the bronze sculpture of the champion steeplechaser and his regular jockey, Pat Taaffe, was unveiled.

The event marked the anniversary of Arkle’s 1964 Cheltenham Gold Cup win, the first of three-in-a-row for the horse owned by Anne, Duchess of Westminster.

The unveiling of the sculpture by Emma McDermott culminated the end of three years planning by a local committee chaired by Jim Dreaper, son of the late Tom, and celebrates the many local connections of the racehorse, which returned home to win the Fairyhouse Irish Grand National in 1964.