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Martin Cypher is a man on a mission – and the final furlong is in sight. 

At the start of 2023, the racing fan who hails from the sport’s spiritual home in Cheltenham challenged himself to visit each of the 26 Irish racecourses and he now has just five left to complete the set, having already ticked off all 61 in the UK. 

The distances involved would put The Proclaimers to shame, with Cypher due to have covered 6,500 miles (10,400kms) across Ireland by the time he ends his odyssey at Thurles on October 19. 

His connection with Ireland spans several decades, the 60-year-old having clocked three hours 41 minutes at the sixth Dublin Marathon in 1985, and the rugby fanatic has made several excursions to Lansdowne Road in the time since. 

But this challenge has seen him visit parts of the country he would never have seen otherwise, taking in glorious scenery both on and off the track.

“Every racecourse has its own character and personality, and I’ve been so impressed with the Irish courses,” he said. “They have great facilities, nice views, and I’ve always liked the informality of it. 

“The restaurants offer good food at good value and you can chat to anyone. I’ve chatted to owners and trainers – horse ownership is more commonplace in Ireland, which makes it feel more accessible – and they are all very laidback. 

“One of the fun things about it has been the sightseeing. On my first trip, I took in Ireland’s highest mountain [Carrauntoohil] and on the second stage, we spent a lot of time on the west coast – the Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula, Corraun Peninsula – and all the towns we visited were lovely in so many different ways.”

Cypher did not initially set out to become a ‘completist’, with the origin of his challenge fittingly coming in Cheltenham on New Year’s Day 2022, at which point the plan was to visit all the jumps courses in England. 

Before long, flat tracks were added to the itinerary, then Scotland and Wales, before he later took in Down Royal and Downpatrick in August 2022. 

When 2023 rolled around, he decided to expand his Irish travels knowing full well just how passionate a racing country he would be exploring. 

“Being born in Cheltenham, you can’t shy away from what goes on there – especially when the Irish take over in spring time!” he said. 

“When I retired two or three years ago, I took more interest in racing as I had more time. It has snowballed and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. 

“I couldn’t pick a ‘favourite’, as such, but Killarney was a lovely course to go to and I really enjoyed Sligo as well. Perhaps it’s being from Cheltenham but I like a course with a mountainous background which really makes you feel like you’re in the countryside, and most Irish tracks are in lovely settings with very nice views. 

“All the bigger courses near Dublin are well run, I liked Leopardstown as a big and famous course, and I had my photo taken with Johnny Murtagh after a winner at Navan. I said words to the effect of ‘I needed that’ and he said ‘so did I!’” 

The meeting at Tramore on October 12 is the first leg of Cypher’s third and final voyage across the Irish Sea, which he is again set to do by ferry, with Dundalk, Naas, Gowran Park and Thurles the other remaining courses to sample. 

He cannot be sure how many others have replicated the full 26 but hopes there may soon be a way for similar enthusiasts to mark their trips.

“From what I can gather, a lot of people have probably done them over a period of time but I don’t think there will be many people who have done so in the space of a year,” he said. 

“By the time I’ve finished, I’ll have done all the Irish and UK courses within a couple of years, which is probably a bit unique. 

“Perhaps there could be an app where people can be authenticated when they visit a racecourse – this may incentivise other racegoers.” 

How many Irish racetracks have you visited? Are you a member of the 26 club? Let us know via HRI’s social channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.