‘The reception I got for winning DWTS was similar to National win,’ says Nina Carberry ahead of big race

More than 25,000 punters are expected to descend on this weekend’s Fairyhouse Easter Festival as the racing industry shakes off the worst effects of the pandemic.

While crowds have been affected by Covid for long periods during the past two years, thousands of spectators will be able to attend the 150th running of the Irish Grand National on Easter Monday.

For retired champion jockey Nina Carberry (37), who recently clocked up another victory on RTÉ’s Dancing with the Stars, the prestigious race has particular resonance for her and her family.

“It’s going to be brilliant this year, there’s going to be a real buzz around the festival so hopefully they’ll get the crowds. Everyone’s mad to celebrate things again,” she said.

She rode the winner of the 2011 Irish Grand National with Organisedconfusion, which was trained by her uncle Arthur Moore, as she recalled one of her career highlights.

Her late father Tommy also won the race, both as a jockey and a trainer, with her brother Paul riding the winner Bobbyjo back in 1998. Her brother Philip went on to win it in 2006 with Point Barrow.

“It’s hard to compare but the reception I got to winning DWTS was quite a similar feeling to winning the race,” said Carberry.

“Something like the Irish Grand National, you wrap your whole career around trying to win and for me to win it was incredible.

“It’s only five minutes up the road from us, where we were born, so to be part of that history is incredible.

“It goes back over 100 years and with my family and everything, it’s just brilliant.”

Carberry, who won Dancing with the Stars with professional dance partner Pasquale la Rocca last month, said she misses the adrenalin buzz from being on the show, despite the gruelling workload involved.

“I definitely miss the training aspect of the dancing and getting really fit as well. It was nice to have that adrenalin back again.

“Coming into every weekend, there was a really good buzz ahead of the show and I really enjoyed meeting all the different people that you would never meet normally in your life.

“I really appreciated being a part of it all.”

However, she insists that actually winning the show was “completely unexpected” for her.

“Once you take on a thing that puts you out of your comfort zone, you don’t want to be ridiculously bad at it so you try your hardest to be respectable and give it the respect it deserves.

“Dancing is a wonderful pastime and it makes you feel so good. It’s an amazing feeling and hopefully DWTS has given me a bit more confidence about speaking in public and things like that.”

She will be at Fairyhouse this weekend to judge the Dunboyne Castle Hotel’s Most Stylish Lady competition, which takes place on Monday.

To mark the 150th running of the Irish Grand National, the theme of the event is “Vintage Sparkle” and the stylish winner will walk away with a host of prizes, including a trip to Champagne in France.

“I know that the task of picking just one lady to receive this wonderful prize will be a difficult one,” Carberry said.

“Mostly, I’ll be looking for a lady whose personality shines through in what she is wearing and for someone who interprets the Vintage Sparkle theme in her own unique way.”