Bumper crowd at Ballybrit

Galway’s high-profile summer festival opened before a bumper crowd of over 17,500 fans at Ballybrit on Monday night where the featured carlton.ie/galwaycity Qualified Riders Handicap went to Tom Mullins’ Fosters Cross, who is due to turn out again this Thursday afternoon off an attractive mark of 10 stone in the Guinness Galway Hurdle.
A Grade 3 winner over fences, Fosters Cross, who was supported from an early morning show of 16-1 into 10-1 at the off, made every post a winning one in this two-mile contest under an enterprising ride from Wexford amateur Colin Motherway. 
The nine-year-old, who races in the silks of Cork owner Patrick O’Donovan, was in front from an early stage and he relished the good ground when showing his 19 rivals a clean pair of heels as he passed the post four lengths in front of second-placed Cry For The Moon. Table Mountain filled third with outsider Eagle’s Pass back in fourth.
Mullins, whose late father, Paddy, trained Vintage Tipple to land the Darley Irish Oaks in the O’Donovan colours back in 2003, indicated that Foster’s Cross will bid to become the first horse since Athy Spirit (1990) to land the Amateur Race/Galway Hurdle double.
“He deserved to win a big pot and has done that tonight, which is great,” said the winning trainer.  “This horse is a pleasure to train and has won on the flat, over hurdles and fences, so he’s very versatile.”
Looking ahead to later in the week, the Gorsebridge handler revealed, “Fosters Cross will take his chance on Thursday if he comes out of today’s race ok. The Galway Hurdle has always been the plan but he was buzzing all week so we decided to let him take his chance here and it has worked out well.”
Racing opened with a victory for Noel Meade’s 9-1 shot Virgil Earp in the two-mile winners’ hurdle.  Paul Carberry gave this son of Fasilyev a confident ride, allowing the four-year-old to stride on before the home turn en-route to a comfortable three-and-a-half-length success over Ted Walsh’s Devil’s Elbow.
Meade, who also owns the winner, said, “I was actually disappointed with his last couple of runs on the flat, but hurdles seems to be his game, as he jumps great. He is in again later in the week, both on the flat and over hurdles, and we’ll see how he is before making a final decision on that.”
Dermot Weld opened his Galway 2011 account when sending out 2-1 shot Riviera Poet to land the two-year-old maiden.
The Roswell House juvenile displayed a smart turn of foot under Pat Smullen when heading Aidan O’Brien’s 4-6 favourite Learn a furlong down and never flinched as he passed the post a length to the good over that rival.
“That may well have been the race of the meeting,” said a thrilled Weld, who was taking this particular race for the 20th time.  “My horse has had sore shins since his first run at the Curragh (where he finished third) and I had to rush him that little bit to get him here this evening. The first two home are really good horses and there was 13 lengths back to the third.  Riviera Poet’s next outing will be in the National Stakes at the Curragh on September 10 and I think he could well be a Group 1 horse.”

O’Connor to the rescue

Punters were on the ropes heading into the concluding race at Galway last Monday evening with a host of unsuccessful gambles leaving the score standing at 6-0 in favour of the bookies following the success of a raft of outsiders in the earlier races. 
Local jockey Derek O’Connor redressed that balance, however, when guiding the first favourite of the night, John Kiely’s 4-1 shot Saint Gervais, to victory in the bumper.   
A good second at Cork on his previous start, Saint Gervais looked a picture in the parade ring and he duly obliged when, having been ridden with total confidence by the talented O’Connor, he forged clear off the home turn to beat runner-up Maller Tree by a very easy nine lengths.
Tubber-born O’Connor has a huge following at Ballybrit and the 28-year-old, who was recently crowned point-to-point champion for the eighth consecutive year, received a tumultuous reception when he returned to the number one spot.
Speaking in the parade ring following his latest success, O’Connor said, “It has been a great year for me, having had a double at Cheltenham and all, but it is always special to win a race at Galway. I really fancied this horse tonight and I made no secret of that. I was impressed with him when I rode him at Cork and John Kiely is a fantastic trainer.” 
Waterford-based Kiely had earlier initiated a double when his easy-to-back 12-1 chance Carlingford Lough ran out a very impressive winner of the salthillhotel.com Handicap Hurdle.
Racing in the well-known colours of leading owner JP McManus, the King’s Theatre gelding made light of his inexperience over timber when forging clear on the uphill climb to the post under Mark Walsh to beat runner-up Tajweed by three and a half lengths.
The winner, whose was successful in a maiden hurdle at Roscommon on his previous start, has a big future, according to Kiely, who declared, “I was worried about it being his first run in a handicap but he coped very well with that and surprised me a little, to be honest. He is nice type of horse and will make a smashing chaser in time.”
Meanwhile, there was drama off track on Monday morning when the Turf Club hearing due to be held into the controversial running of The Real Article in the Grimes Hurdle at Tipperary recently was halted following  legal submissions on behalf of his Tipperary trainer, Edward O’Grady.
The Real Article finished second under a hands and heels ride to Captain Cee Bee in the Tipperary race and the local stewards, having interviewed both The Real Article’s trainer O’Grady and jockey Paddy Mangan, deemed that no further action was necessary.
On Monday, solicitor Frank Ward, acting on behalf of O’Grady, successfully argued that the referrals committee had no power to investigate the matter any further and the Turf Club were forced to cancel the hearing.
This clears the way for The Real Article, who is due to go up 18lbs in future handicaps, to run off his original mark in this Thursday’s Galway Hurdle, where he is likely to go off favourite.