ANGEL FLIES IN MEMORY OF CATHY

Ian Fortune

When Cathys Angel came home in front on debut at the Kingdom Stadium on Saturday night, she gave those involved in her quite the thrill but also triggered great memories and emotions.

The daughter of Ballymac Bolger is never likely to win an Oaks but, for those involved in the Cathys Army Syndicate, this was one of their greatest nights in the sport as Cathys Angel was bought and named in honour of their late friend Cathy McAuliffe.

Ger Flavin, a member of the Cathys Army Syndicate will tell the story better than this scribe could. Said Ger, "Tom (Pa O'Connor, Saleen) and Patrick kindly donated a greyhound pup for the Swanky Cathy Fundraiser which was held in September 2023, in support of our friend Cathy McAuliffe who was diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier in the year.
The pup went up for Auction, that night a group of 96 friends and family from all over formed "Cathys Army" and we were not leaving the Swanky Bar that night without the pup .
The pup now is named Cathys Angel after Cathy's love of betting on any horse or dog that had ‘Angel’ in the name.
A bus left the Swanky Bar on Saturday evening for the Kingdom Greyhound Stadium and returned singing "Sweet Caroline" into the village of Tarbert, remembering our great friend Cathy. Cathy sadly passed away in July this year."

It's certainly a tremendous way to remember their friend and we truly hope that Cathys Angel will continue to bring happiness to her owners, while also evoking wonderful memories to their late friend, Cathy.

Incidentally, Cathys Angel debut victory came in the opening round heat of an ON3 Novice Stake meaning she will be back out this coming weekend. Given her age, the June ’23 whelp she remains open to much improvement and hopefully she will be winning many more times before her racing days are over. One suspects there will be more than one or two renditions of Sweet Caroline in the coming months.