[h=1]Sean of the Bread[/h] By Melanie Finn and Cormac Byrne
Thursday March 15 2012
IRELAND soccer star Sean St Ledger splashed the cash for revellers after he hit the jackpot at Cheltenham.
The star defender downed Jaegerbombs and bought rounds of drinks for punters at a Cheltenham pub where he partied into the early hours of today.
At one stage, the young Leicester player pulled out a wad of cash and showed it off when asked if he had a winner at the races.
"What do you think?" he laughed before generously peeling off some notes and buying drinks for everyone in sight.
The 27-year-old defender will line out for Ireland at the Euro 2012 in three months but he has a more pressing engagement at the weekend against Chelsea.
The FA Cup quarter-final with the Blues, however, didn't seem too pressing for the centre half.
Drink
"Come on, let's have a drink. I'm playing Chelsea on Sunday but it's okay," he told the Herald.
St Ledger, who is a valuable member of the Ireland team, hit the tiles with a vengeance as he celebrated his big win on Queen Mother Champion Chase day.
Dressed in a dark suit and in gregarious form after a day spent enjoying hospitality with Boylesports, St Ledger partied at the Beehive in the centre of Cheltenham. At one stage, he threw his shot of Jaegermeister into a pint of beer and downed it quickly before moving on to buy more drinks.
The star is gearing up for a clash against Chelsea and was clearly given the night off by team boss Nigel Pearson.
The pair have had a fractious relationship in the past, after Pearson transfer-listed St Ledger following a St Stephen's Day bust up after the Ireland player was left out of the team.
Laughed
When asked if he had been given time off by no-nonsense Pearson, St Ledger laughed and said: "It's okay, it's okay."
St Ledger has made a place in the Ireland team his own of late, lining up as Richard Dunne's defensive partner. He will travel with the Ireland team to Poland in the summer and may start against Croatia in our first match of Euro 2012.
St Ledger had come up to the Prestbury racecourse from his southern base with a gang of pals as they enjoyed the hospitality area in the corporate boxes. He was among a number of soccer stars who had made their way to the track to chance their arm and have a flutter, including Shay Given who was seen chatting with Westwife Gillian Filan.
Although born in Britain, St Ledger chose to play for Ireland as his grandfather is from Carlow. He made his Ireland debut in June 2009 in a qualifier for the 2010 FIFA World, Cup which resulted in a 1-1 draw to Bulgaria.
- Melanie Finn and Cormac Byrne
