GALWAY’S seven-day summer festival kicks off on Monday evening with the scene set for yet another record-breaking week at the popular Ballybrit course.
This annual bonanza is the jewel in the crown where Irish racing is concerned and this year’s renewal will be a welcome boost as huge numbers gather to enjoy the racing and soak up the unique atmosphere.
Galway Race week generates close on €70 million for the local economy and the city’s hotels and guest houses are reporting close to full capacity for what promises to be a week of non-stop activity. As always, there will something for everyone with both the seasoned racegoer and the once-a-year punter well catered for as the magic that is race week unfolds.
Action on track will centre on all the big races with next Wednesday’s thetote.com Galway Plate and the Galway Guinness Hurdle 24 hours later attracting most of the attention.
The plate is the biggest summer chase run in this country and with a prize fund of €200,000 on offer, there is sure to be a top-class line-up.
Captain Cee Bee, who ran out a snug winner of the Grimes Hurdle at Tipperary last Sunday, tops the weights here on the 12st mark. Edward Harty’s 10-year-old is not a definite runner however, as the JP McManus-owned chaser may well switch to the Galway Hurdle, where he is set to run of the more attractive mark of 10-11.
Recent Killarney winner, Bahrain Storm, also holds an entry in both the plate and the hurdle but Pat Flynn’s charge looks set to run in the chase. He looked good when winning at Killarney and has the added bonus of liking the track having landed the 2009 Galway Hurdle in good style.
Dermot Weld, always a man to be feared in Galway, has a major contender in Majestic Concorde. Weld has been leading trainer at this fixture 26 times since he sent out his first winner as a trainer at the venue way back in 1972 and his tally of 11 winners last year smashed his old record by one.
Racing in the colours of Dr Ronan Lambe, Majestic Concorde has had a typically ‘light’ Weld preparation for Wednesday’s race not having been seen since pulling up in the Grand National at Aintree early in April. Before that, he had won the valuable Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas – where he beat Noel Glynn’s Becasueicouldntsee – and the eight-year-old, who seems very adaptable ground wise, must be on the shortlist.
Weld also has Prince Erik in the plate while top UK trainer, Paul Nicholls, will be hoping his Rebel De Maquis can feature. He looks nicely treated off a mark of 11.0 and it is worth remembering that Nicholls landed the plate in 2008 with Oslot.
David Pipe is toying with the notion of sending over Qulinton, who impressed when running out a 19-length winner of the Summer Plate at Newton Abbot on Saturday.
Thursday is ladies’ day at Ballybrit, which traditionally attracts the biggest attendance of the week. Fans are in for a real treat here as this year’s Galway Hurdle looks a hot race, with last year’s winner, Overturn, topping the weights.
Donald McCain’s charge, who ran out a facile winner 12 months ago under Graham Lee, has had a busy campaign and is far from a certain runner. Should he come out, the weights will go up, which will not be ideal but one that really caught the eye at Tipperary on Sunday was Edward O’Grady’s The Real Article.
He cruised into contention approaching the final flight in the race won by Captain Cee Bee and to say he wasn’t knocked about by his jockey Paddy Mangan when going under by just a short-head would be an understatement.
The Real Article gets a rise of 18lbs in future handicaps for Sunday’s effort but will run off his old mark of 127 next Thursday, which has resulted in his price tumbling from 9/1 to 7/2 favourite over the past few days.
Gordon Elliott has two big hitters in the hurdle with Dirar – who ran a very good race when third last year before going on to win on the flat at York – and Plan A set to represent the trail-blazing Meath handler. Dermot Weld’s Hidden Universe has a touch of class also while Jack Cool from Charles Byrnes’ Limerick yard and Tony Martin’s Redera have attracted a few bob in the each-way market of late which is interesting.

Walsh misses Galway following Killarney tumble

ONE familiar face missing from the action next week at Ballybrit will be that of champion jockey Ruby Walsh, who is facing a spell on the sidelines having injured his neck in a fall at Tralee last week.
Walsh shipped a heavy tumble from Friendly Society at the first hurdle in the concluding race at the Kingdom track on Tuesday evening and, while he initially seemed fine, a visit to Cork University Hospital the following morning revealed that the Kildare rider had suffered a crushed vertebra and a torn ligament in his neck which will leave him out of action until Listowel at least. 
While Walsh’s absence from the saddle will be a blow to his many followers, there will be plenty of good jockeys in action over the week both on the flat and over jumps.
Last year, Pat Smullen claimed the leading rider’s award on the level with five wins and his association with the powerful Weld camp will see him in a very strong position to retain his title. Year after year, Weld lays out a very strong team for Galway and while the master of Rosewell House, who was made a honorary member of Galway Race Committee last August, has indicated his main focus this time round will be on ‘quality rather than quantity’, it will come as a surprise should the Curragh handler fail to retain his leading trainer’s crown.
Limerick amateur Robbie McNamara bagged last year’s leading National Hunt rider’s award with five wins and he has some very nice mounts lined up for the week. Barry Geraghty, Davy Russell, Paul Carberry and Andrew McNamara are other jockeys likely to visit the winners’ enclosure.
Meanwhile, Gort trainer Hannah Lee had the perfect dress rehearsal for Galway when her Tory Hill Lad sprung a 25/1 surprise to land a three-mile hurdle at Kilbeggan last Friday evening.
Waterford jockey Shay Barry had the now 12-year-old Tory Hill Lad in a prominent position from the start and, having led approaching five out, he found plenty in the latter stages to beat Excellent as Usual by two lengths.
Mrs Lee, who trains the winner for the JAM Syndicate that includes her husband Joe, will now bring Tory Hill Lad to Galway where he will either run on the Tuesday or the Friday.
Martin Brassil will also have runners at Galway and the Newmarket-on-Fergus native enjoyed a welcome change of fortune when his Double Seven (7/2) scored in the Martinstown Opportunity Handicap Hurdle at Tipperary on Sunday.
Racing in the silks of race sponsor, JP McManus, Double Seven was given a fine ride by promising claimer Bryan Cooper, who forged his mount clear in the closing stages to beat Sox’s Girl by two and a half lengths.