Irish racing expert Tony Keenan has a bet for the opening day of the Galway Festival.
The run-up to Galway has been unusual as there has been little rain around Ballybrit and it is expected to stay that way until after the Plate on Wednesday. The course will water the ground back to the slow side of good to facilitate mixed cards and while that may not suit everyone, at least we know where we stand.
As ever, the feature on opening night, the Connacht Hotel Handicap at 6.40, is competitive though TOLL STONE stands out as having strong form claims for an owner/trainer combination with a good record at the meeting.
The selection won at the meeting last August despite Emmet Mullins going through a quiet time, beating a very well-treated rival in Mr Percy as the pair were six-and-a-half lengths clear of the third, and while he got beaten again the following afternoon it is easy to forgive that defeat.
His revised mark looked unlikely to stop him based on two subsequent runs last season, meeting trouble when fourth in a valuable contest at Hamilton then travelling powerfully through a premier handicap at Naas before finishing second, that form again proving solid since.
He is weighted to beat Comfort Zone, another leading player here, on that run and the biggest concern is whether he will last home over this trip, but connections have taken steps to mitigate those worries, giving him a prep run over hurdles (shaped well at Bellewstown earlier this month) and reapplying the hood. There is also surprisingly little forecast pace despite the big field which might also help.
Of the rest, Weston and Fairbanks are interesting outsiders. Weston has disappointed twice at the track but those runs came when he was out of form, but he is in better order now and his mark has dropped a lot while Fairbanks might be the one to benefit from the lack of pace as he could go forward from his low draw.
He looks full value for his mark of 100 judged on his English form and got little chance with how the race went at Royal Ascot.
Joseph O’Brien sets punters a challenge in the GRA Chocolates Handicap at 7.50, running four and all have a chance of sorts. My lean would be towards Desmond Castle who appears inconsistent overall but has run well on the two occasions he has gotten decent ground in handicaps.
He was an eye-catcher when runner-up in a competitive nursery at the Curragh last September, making a sweeping move from rear, and having dropped back to the same mark after running on slower ground, attracted the attention of the stewards at Limerick last time back on good ground, keeping on well when tenderly handled.
His jockey reported that he is not straightforward then, and that may be the case, but he looks on a good mark if things fall right, and it could be notable that he holds another entry on Thursday, the trainer winning this race in 2020 with Flying Scotsman before he won again later in the week.
The Clayton Hotel Galway Handicap (7.15) contains some out of form types with two that are in good order now being Highbury See See and Aviatrice. Both are towards the head of the betting, however, and would need to drift to be of interest.
Preview posted at 0810 on 28/07/25
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