The Galway Summer Festival is back and it’s set to run at Ballybrit Racecourse every day next week (26th July-1st August) — making it Ireland’s largest National Hunt racing meeting.
The event’s organisers had proposed a maximum of 5,000 racegoers per day. However, that idea was quashed by the Irish government, who have only granted an allocation of 1,000 spectators for each of the seven days.
Nonetheless, it will be great to see racegoers return to the course, albeit in small numbers. So, as we gear up to the exciting meeting, let’s take a look at four horses to watch…
The Shunter
Favourite to win the Galway Plate, according to the Galway betting odds, The Shunter heads to Ballybrit with a Cheltenham Festival victory on his résumé. The Emmet Mullins-trained horse beat Farclas by three lengths to win the Paddy Power Plate at the Festival earlier this year, but he couldn’t replicate that feat at the Grand National meeting at Aintree in April, where he finished almost four lengths behind Protektorat in the Grade 1 Novices’ Chase. Third last time out in a Grade B Handicap Hurdle at Punchestown, Mullins will be hoping that he can get back to winning ways in the Galway Summer Festival’s feature race.
Belfast Banter
The Galway Hurdle tops Ladies’ Day’s card on day four of the meeting, and Belfast Banter is the ante-post favourite ahead of the two-mile, nine-hurdle race. The Peter Fahey-trained six-year-old had a fantastic end to last season, winning the Grade 3 County Handicap Hurdle from 33/1 at Cheltenham before backing that up with a victory from 9/1 in the Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree — the horse’s first victory at top-grade level. He’ll face stiff competition from Scottish Champion Hurdle winner Milkwood. However, with those two massive victories at the back-end of last season, you’d fancy Belfast Banter to see the race out.
Cavalry Master
With four successive victories from as many races to his name already this year, Henry de Bromhead’s Cavalry Master will be well-backed by the punters at 12/1 in the Galway Plate. The seven-year-old landed his first victory since 2019 in the Congratulations Minella Times Beginners Chase at Kilbeggan in April and he has only kicked on from there, with two Novice Chase victories at Killarney wedged either side of a win at Wexford. The Galway Plate will undoubtably be a step-up for Cavalry Master, but those four victories will have set him in good stead heading to Ballybrit.
Tiger Roll
There aren’t many bigger names in National Hunt Racing than Gigginstown House Stud’s prized asset Tiger Roll, and there’s no doubt that those lucky enough to have gotten their hands on tickets to this year’s Galway Summer Festival will be keeping their fingers crossed that the dual Grand National winner will feature in the Plate. The 11-year-old rolled back the years at this year’s Cheltenham Festival, beating favourite and defending champion Easysland by a huge 18 lengths to regain his Cross Country Chase crown. That’s the Denise Foster-trained horse’s only victory in his last seven races, though. So, whilst it would spark massive scenes of jubilation at Ballybrit if he was to win the Plate, a victory from 16/1 doesn’t seem likely.
Source: Plato
