An Irish racehorse owner has captured the hearts of millions online with his comical and passionate interviews live from the course.
Josh Sheahan is the owner of Top o’ the Town, a nine-year-old gelding. The horse shares its name with Josh’s pub in Co Antrim.
Josh definitely wears his heart on his sleeve and his confidence and excitement are plain to see in his pre-race interviews, and equally his despair when Top o’ the Town fails to win.
Josh first came to prominence last month when he was at limerick racecourse to watch Top o’ the Town run.
The horse had been installed as the bookies’ favourite and Josh encouraged the world to get their bets on, stating that ‘this horse is a certainty, get on now!’
He also joked that the last time Top o’ the Town won, he and his friends went on a bender that lasted several weeks and resulted in one of their wives leaving them.
Unfortunately for Josh, that pre-race jubilation was lost, as the horse failed to live up to its billing as ‘a certainty’ and lost the race.
Visibly emotional and wounded, Josh stepped in front of the cameras again and pleaded with the people of Northern Ireland to come and spend some money in his pub to help try and recoup some of his losses.
A few weeks later, Josh, Top o’ the Town and their supporters were back on the Racing TV screen. This time the horse was a massive 20/1 shot to win, but Josh had done all he could to help, including sleeping with the horse for two hours talking to it and rubbing its belly.
Take a look at the comical interviews for yourself, no wonder this guy is an online hit.
The Top Of The Town team are in lively form @Galway_Races… 😂 pic.twitter.com/ScKQDFkZhO
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) August 4, 2017