The Irish horse racing broadcaster offers his selections for the final two days of the Galway Festival.
Saturday’s Galway card presents another series of tricky puzzles for punters, with matters not made any easier by several horses having their second or third outings of the festival.
One for whom that should be of no concern is triple course winner IMPOSING SUPREME, who was scoring for the second time that week when landing the 2021 edition of today’s 7f handicap. This time around he arrives on the back of an excellent third to strongly-fancied British raider Reidh on Tuesday evening, when a wide draw possibly didn’t help his cause as he went down with all guns blazing. He is due to go up 2lb in future handicaps but can compete off the same mark today and is just preferred to Clear Quartz, who took the finale on the day two card for a second time.
The feature event is the 110,000 Boylesports Handicap Hurdle and TOTO TOO appeals under Keith Donoghue. It’s not ideal that Gavin Cromwell’s gelding was brought down when sent off favourite on his latest start at Ballinrobe but he has been given plenty of time to get over that incident and had looked a likely type for a big handicap when scoring on his debut for the yard at Naas in April.
Turning to Sunday’s action and the best bet may come in the opening conditional riders’ handicap hurdle in the shape of MORRICONE. Bythesametoken is sure to be well fancied to continue Ross O’Sullivan’s extraordinary run and must be respected after his third to the well-handicapped Teed Up twelve months ago but preference is for Ray Hackett’s charge.
The Shantou gelding has proved a great addition to the Tipperary handler’s yard, and while his hat-trick bid was foiled at the Punchestown Festival he still emerged with plenty of credit there after a bad early mistake and has less on his plate here.
FLICKER OF HOPE was another whose bid for a three-timer came up a bit short on the opening day here but he has to be of major interest now returned to a more suitable trip in the extended 3m handicap hurdle at 2.20. Mark Fahey has booked champion jockey Jack Kennedy for this quick reappearance and his French import, who had previously impressed at Clonmel and Wexford, should have sharpened up for that first outing in two months.
Finally NO MORE PORTER can be expected to mount a bold bid to provide Ado McGuinness with another victory in the Irish Stallion Farms Ahonoora Handicap at 4.00. Stable-companion Current Option and Dunum have won the last four editions between them but may have to give best on this occasion to Adam Caffrey’s mount, who was an excellent second at the Curragh and was withdrawn on Thursday to wait for this much more valuable prize.