Galway Festival (Day 3) - Wednesday 28th July

[Spooner]

Galway

Time	Race	Distance	Entries (NR)
3:00 PM	To te Placepot Races 1 To 6 Novice Hurdle	2m	8 (0)
3:35 PM	To te Telebet 1850 238 669 Handicap Hurdle (81-123)	2m 4f	23 (0)
4:10 PM	To te Jackpot Races 3 To 6 Handicap Hurdle (88-130)	3m	23 (0)
4:45 PM	www.the tote.com (Q.R.) Maiden	1m 4f	17 (0)
5:25 PM	www.the tote.com Galway Plate (Handicap Chase) (Grade A)	2m 6f	25 (0)
6:00 PM	To te Trifecta Handicap (50-70)	1m 100yds	21 (0)
6:35 PM	www.to te goracingclub.com Handicap (60-95)	1m 100yds	11 (0)
7:10 PM	To te Return All Profits To Racing Maiden	1m 100yds	10 (0)

[Monterosso]

Re: Galway Festival (Day 3) - Wednesday 28th July 3:00 Galway - Ballyadam Brook - 1pt e/w Made all to win impressively last time out, only has had 6 spins over hurdles and has only been unplaced once which was on debut. This is tougher but he has a lot of ability, stays well and will like the ground. Open to plenty of improvement and if his win last time out is anything to go by he'll stay going up the hill without bother and will hopefully be able to run the field into submission on a track that favours front runners. Paul Townend takes the ride as he has on the last three occasions that this horse has raced and the form reads 2-1-1 with hopefully another "1" to be added to that tomorrow. He jumps soundly and the trainers horses have been in fine fettle this last couple of months. Townend doesn't often ride for the trainer but he has been placed 7 times from 10 attempts including those two wins aboard this horse. It's a trappy enough race to call but the Gordon Elliot horse, Final Day, is likely to be a short enough priced favourite but I don't think he's the best of jumpers and if he makes a couple of mistakes he may find it hard to keep with my selection. A lot of others can have claims made quite easily for them but even under a penalty I feel if Ballyadam Brook replicates his run from last time out he stands a great chance and should place at least, hoping for around 5/1 and all going well he looks an each way bet to nothing. 3:35 Galway - Waterloo Chateau - 1pt e/w Stunningly difficult race to call but this one has been in fine form of late since joining Noel Meade. Only has had 11 career starts and is 7 years old but won a decent Maiden Hurdle at Roscommon 3 weeks ago off top weight and ran well again last week in Ballinrobe when a 1 3/4 length second to Vivaldi. More improvement to come and his front running style is another plus with the way things have been going at Galway so far. Ground should be no problem and he should be fit and ready for this. Trained by Noel Meade and ridden by the excellent Paul Carberry and this partnership won this race last year with a horse of a similar profile to this one. He tends to jump left but hopefully they'll have that worked on and he'll stay all day so if he gets his jumping right I think he has good place claims although it's a really tough race to call so only a small each way bet for me at likely odds of around 12/1. 4:10 Galway - Duroob - 1pt Found it awful tough to pick one in this race, just going for one that will stay the 3m and he's a sound jumper. The ground will be no bother to him and he has been in fine form since coming back in May, winning twice and placing twice from 5 attempts. Nearly 70 career appearances but still retains a lot of ability and although there's 20 runners in the field I think a good few can be ruled out due to the trip. Decent 5lb claim will help and will only be carrying 10st 13lbs, will be suited by a fast pace and he likes to be held up to run on late when the rest are tiring, should have a decent chance at around 7/1 and Timeform have him as their top pick also. 4:45 Galway - Endless Intrigue - 5pts Biggest bet of the festival for me so far, no doubt it'll be the one Weld horse that will not win but it has the best Bumper form including a 2nd placed finish in the Champion Bumper behind Cousin Vinny. He should be a step above these and with the form of Weld around here I'll be surprised to see him beaten. Robbie Mac on board and he's as capable a jockey as any, and is 2/3 at Galway so far this year and this is his only ride tomorrow. The ground will be no problem and the trip is sound, has the perfect mix of speed and stamina and I expect to see him win this tomorrow. Max bet for me and likely to be around 5/4 or Even money. Looks to have a great chance. 5:25 Galway - Majestic Concorde - 2pts @ 9/2 (Bet365) Not even going to try solve this one, just backing the Weld horse with small/medium stakes. Looks to be lined up for this and ran well on the flat last time out when a close 4th in the Chester Cup in May. Weld says he has a good chance and I've no reason to doubt him. Davy Russell on board and he's as capable as any. Ground and trip should be no bother and he's a good jumper and looks well handicapped, Should go well hopefully. Small stakes in the last three races, not doing any write up on them. 6:00 Galway - All In Clover - 1pt 6:35 Galway - Snap Alam - .5pts 7:10 Galway - Born To Excel - .5pts Can't get any worse than yesterday can it? :sad Prices added in the morning.