Galway Hurdle: Preview and tips for big race

1. Ballyadam

A Grade 1 winner as a novice hurdler, he was beaten in his two chases at the start of last season. Reverting to hurdles, he didn’t run badly in the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March, he has had a nice break since then, and the last two Galway Hurdle winners carried top weight.

2. Felix Desjy

He used to be a tearaway front-runner, but he was held up at Punchestown in April when he won a valuable handicap hurdle there off a mark of 138. He fell at the second flight when sent off as favourite for the Galway Hurdle in 2020, but he won his maiden hurdle at Galway in October 2018, and a mark of 144 is still workable.

3. Santa Rossa

She is a classy mare, she won a Grade 2 bumper at Leopardstown in February 2019, and she was impressive in winning the Grade 3 Grimes Hurdle at Tipperary last time. A 10lb hike sees her set to carry joint top weight, but she is progressive and highweights have a good recent record in the Galway Hurdle.

4. Shewearsitwell

Three out of three in 2020, she landed short odds on her third run back after a long break at Killarney in May. She only finished fifth behind Santa Rossa and Felix Desjy in the Grimes Hurdle last time, so she will have to improve on that if she is going to be involved, and it may be that she is better over further than the minimum trip, but she remains unexposed.

5. Embittered

He hasn’t run over hurdles since he finished down the field in last year’s Galway Hurdle, but he won a Grade 3 chase at Punchestown in October, and he was running well last time in a handicap chase at Punchestown in May before he made a chance-ending mistake at the second last fence. He retains the potential for more over hurdles, and Harry Swan takes off a valuable 7lb.

7. Anna Bunina

She is not obviously unexposed, but she has been in tremendous form of late. She built on her victory in the Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr in April, going on to win a listed contest at Killarney in May before winning a valuable handicap hurdle at Bellewstown earlier this month. The handicapper raised her by 7lb for that victory to a mark of 141, but that may still be within range. She loves this goodish summer ground, and she should get the fast pace that suits her so well.

8. My Mate Mozzie

Winner of a Grade 3 novices’ hurdle at Navan last November, he was a little unlucky not to win the Grade 1 Royal Bond Hurdle at Fairyhouse later that month. Eighth in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham in March, his last two runs have been on the flat, but he retains the potential to progress beyond his handicap rating of 141 over hurdles.

9. Autumn Evening

Winner of the Lartigue Hurdle at Listowel last September, he ran a big race to finish third in the valuable two-mile handicap hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown in February off a mark of 138. He is only 2lb higher now, and he represents a trainer who won the Galway Hurdle in 1994 with Oh So Grumpy. He will have to do better than he did on the flat at The Curragh on Irish Derby weekend, but that was his first run back after a break, and he could step forward significantly from that.

10. Farout

He faded to finish seventh in the Connacht Hotel Handicap at Galway on Monday night, having raced keenly and hit the front a half a mile out. He is a talented performer over hurdles, he wasn’t beaten far by Felix Desjy in that valuable handicap hurdle at Punchestown in April, and he won a novices’ hurdle at last year’s Galway Festival on his only run over hurdles there.

11. The Very Man

He has been well beaten in his last two runs, in valuable handicap hurdles at the Cheltenham and Punchestown festivals. He is only 5lb higher than he was when he won a handicap hurdle at Navan in January, but he will have to run up to his best, and this trip may be on the sharp side for him.

12. Jesse Evans

Fourth in last year’s Galway Hurdle, he was sent off as favourite for the Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham last November. He was beaten in valuable handicap hurdles at Cheltenham and Fairyhouse and Punchestown in the spring, but he put up a really good performance on the flat at Killarney two weeks ago, going down by just a head to the progressive Harry’s Legacy. He remains interestingly handicapped on a mark in the high 130s, and trainer Noel Meade has deep-rooted history with the Galway Hurdle.

13. Adamantly Chosen

Winner of his only bumper, he got off the mark over hurdles on his third attempt at Thurles in February. Well beaten in the Martin Pipe Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, he ran a big race last time to finish fourth in a valuable handicap hurdle at the Punchestown Festival. He remains unexposed, he is trained by the champion trainer, who has won three of the last four renewals and four of the last six renewals of the Galway Hurdle, and he is the choice of Paul Townend.

14. Vino Ardanza

Winner of his only bumper, he got off the mark over hurdles on his first attempt at Thurles last November, and he has run well in defeat in graded races at Naas and Aintree since. A mark of 137 is more than workable, and he is another unexposed young hurdler from whom there could be much more to come.

15. Tudor City

A Galway perennial, he won the Galway Hurdle in 2019, he finished seventh in the race in 2020 and he finished fifth last year. He goes into the race in good form this year, having won a handicap hurdle at Punchestown at the end of May, and finished third last time in the apprentices’ Derby on the flat at The Curragh. The stats say that he is up against it as a 10-year-old, but we know that he goes well at the track, and his handicap rating of 136 is 3lb lower than the mark off which he won the race three years ago.

16. Top Bandit

He was really progressive last autumn, completing a hat-trick over hurdles between late October and early December. He finished down the field in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham in March, but that was his first run back after a break, and he is a young, unexposed and talented hurdler who retains plenty of potential for progression.

Elsewhere on Sporting Life: Premier League football betting guide

17. Heia

Second behind Anna Bunina in that listed mares’ hurdle at Killarney in mid-May, she progressed from that last time when she made most of the running and ran out an impressive winner of a mares’ novices’ hurdle at Punchestown. Her jumping was good that day, she bounced off the good ground, and a 7lb hike from the handicapper may be less than the magnitude of her potential for progression.

18. Celestial Horizon

Winner of his maiden hurdle at Naas at the end of March, he stepped forward from that at Killarney in May, keeping on well to win a valuable handicap hurdle over an extended two miles. A mark of 136 is more than workable, 9lb higher than the mark off which he won at Killarney, but no four-year-old has won the Galway Hurdle since 2000.

19. The Tide Turns

Another four-year-old, he won his maiden hurdle at Punchestown in January, and he ran a big race in a Grade 2 contest at Fairyhouse in April, only just giving best to Flame Bearer and Ha D’Or, with the three of them clear of their rivals. He had an excuse for a poor run at Bellewstown last time, and first-time cheekpieces could elicit further improvement.

20. Glan

She showed a smart turn of foot at Fairyhouse in April when she ran out an impressive winner of a valuable handicap hurdle there off a mark of 123. You can allow her her defeat at the Punchestown Festival, when she made a bad mistake when travelling well at the third last flight, and she had an excuse for her poor run in Celestial Horizon’s race at Killarney last time. She could still have plenty of leeway in a handicap rating of 130.

21. Prairie Dancer

First reserve, who gets in, he won three of his last four races before he was well beaten in the listed novices’ hurdle here on Tuesday. He remains progressive, but he would have to do better than he did on Tuesday if getting a run.

Reserves

22. Rich Belief

Second reserve, he battled on well to win a handicap hurdle at Kelso at the end of May, and he didn’t run badly in finishing fourth in Anna Bunina’s race at Bellewstown three weeks ago. He ran well over two miles on the flat at Limerick in between those two runs over hurdles and, winner of his maiden over two and a half miles, the stiffer test that Galway presents should suit him better.

23. Hearts Are Trumps

Third reserve, he finished second behind Aramon in the Galway Hurdle in 2020 off a mark of 136. The handicapper has given him a chance, dropping him to a mark of 126, his lowest mark since October 2018.

Verdict

1. Santa Rossa
2. Felix Desjy
3. Jesse Evans
4. Adamantly Chosen

• Royal Ascot tips
• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCareon 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.