Bets day of our lives...

Emily says yes to proposal as Elliott has another winner in Galway Plate

- BY SANDRA MALLON Showbiz Editor

A PUNTER had the "biggest win of the day" when he got down on one knee and proposed to his long-term girlfriend.

Conor McDonald, 31, from Bournemouth, UK, surprised racegoers in the parade ring when he proposed to his girlfriend Emily Fennell at yesterday's race meeting.

The 27-year-old, from Ennis in Co Clare, wasn't expecting the proposal at the famed Ballybrit racecourse.

The couple, who have been together for seven years, are both teachers living in the UK and come to the Galway Races every year.

Conor told us: "I like the limelight and I thought, what better place. We come every year. We met in Australia about seven years ago now, and Emily's from Ennis, we come home every summer.

"I'm a teacher at home. We come here as a highlight of the trip to Ireland." And asked about the proposal, Conor joked: "I thought she's due it, like." Emily insisted: "I've put in the graft." Conor also explained the logistics behind putting his surprise proposal together.

He said: "I spoke to a lovely girl on the phone, actually in [Galway Races] hospitality.