Donn McClean includes Galway Festival regular Camlann and the talented rider Denis O’Regan among his five to watch this week.
Emmet Mullins - Trainer
Emmet Mullins had two winners at last year’s Galway Festival, and he has a relatively small but select team on track again this year.
Zero Ten is set for the Latin Quarter Beginners’ Chase on Tuesday evening, a race that the trainer won last year with St Stephen’s Green. Zero Ten was a progressive hurdler last season, and he was impressive in landing the Red Mills Auction Hurdle Final at the Punchestown Festival in May.
He has not yet run over fences, but you can be sure that he will have been well schooled by his astute trainer and, a dual winner at the track, connections have probably had this week in mind for a while.
Russian Diamond goes in the bumper on Monday evening that the trainer won with Zero Ten last year. The Morozov gelding was well beaten on his only run to date, behind Neptune in a bumper at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival, but he is obviously highly regarded. Owned, like Zero Ten and St Stephen’s Green, by the Mee family, he could do a lot better now, with a tongue-tie fitted for the first time.
St Stephen’s Green was well beaten in a two-mile handicap on the flat at The Curragh on Irish Derby day, but his record at Galway reads 231, and he holds an entry in the two-mile handicap hurdle on Friday. Sneaky Getaway and Rocket Lad and Dolly Dancer and Ooksoo are other representatives who are worthy of note.
Shanning - Horse
Willie Mullins has eight entries in the Guinness Galway Hurdle on Thursday, a race that the champion trainer has won twice in the last three years, but Shanning could be an interesting contender. The Supreme Horse Racing Club's mare was well beaten behind her stable companion Mr Adjudicator in a valuable handicap hurdle at the Punchestown Festival, but she demonstrated her wellbeing with a nice performance last time to win a mares' hurdle at Killarney.
She was getting 12lb from the runner-up that day, her stable companion Pravalaguna, but Pravalaguna is a talented mare, a 142-rated performer, and Shanning beat her nicely.
That was just the Spanish Moon mare’s seventh run over hurdles, and it was her first since the Punchestown Festival so, still only six, she has plenty of scope for progression. She has the potential to be better than her current handicap rating of 136 in time.
That mark should get her into the Galway Hurdle on a nice racing weight, she will have 10st 11lb if top weight, her stable companion, Quick Grabim stands his ground and she won a novices’ hurdle over the course and distance in October 2017.
The Colm Quinn BMW Irish EBF Fillies Maiden - Race
Hermosa won the Colm Quinn BMW Irish EBF Fillies Maiden last year, and look how that turned out? Aidan O’Brien’s filly went on to win the Group 3 Weld Park Stakes at Naas as a juvenile last year, and she has won the English and Irish 1000 Guineas this term so far.
Third in last year’s race was Tarnawa, who won the Group 3 Blue Wind Stakes at Naas in May.
Eziyra won this juvenile fillies’ maiden in 2016, and Dermot Weld’s filly also won the Weld Park Stakes later that season. A dual Group 3 winner as a three-year-old, she won the Group 3 Ballyroan Stakes and the Group 2 Blandford Stakes at four.
Runner-up to Eziyra in 2016 was Hydrangea, who won the Group 1 Matron Stakes and the Group 1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes as a three-year-old.
This race runs deeper too. Now Or Never won it for Michael O’Callaghan in 2015, and she won the Group 3 Leopardstown 1000 Guineas Trial the following May as a three-year-old, before going to Australia and becoming Now Or Later and winning the Group 2 Blazer Stakes as a four-year-old.
Subsequent Guineas winner and Nassau Stakes winner and Matron Stakes winner Legatissimo won it for David Wachman in 2014, when she had subsequent Fillies’ Mile winner Together Forever behind her in fourth place, and subsequent Oaks runner-up and Blandford Stakes winner Tarfasha won it in 2013.
And if you want to go back to 1995, you can, because Dance Design won it that year, and the Moyglare filly went on to win the Irish Oaks and the Tattersalls Gold Cup and the Pretty Polly Stakes twice. This race is a fertile ground for top-class fillies.
Camlann - Horse
Camlann is a Galway perennial. He is the modern day Pinch Hitter.
Shark Hanlon's horse ran twice there in 2015, in one-mile handicaps (twice), and he finished fourth (twice). He ran three times there in 2016, he finished third in a handicap hurdle, then finished third in a 12-furlong handicap – he was getting closer – before going back on the Sunday and winning the Martinstown Opportunity Handicap Hurdle under the 4lb claimer Rachael Blackmore.
The Mees' evergreen eight-year-old ran three times at Galway too in 2017, second in the Guinness Harp Handicap on the Thursday, on his first run of the week, as close as he got. And he ran three times there last year too, passing the post first under Billy Lee on his first run of the week in the 12-furlong handicap on the Thursday.
The Cape Cross gelding is set to have his first run of the week in the final race on Wednesday, the two-mile handicap. Don’t rule out a big run there, and don’t rule out the possibility that we will see him again later in the week.
Denis O’Regan - Jockey
Denis O’Regan is one of a select group of current riders who have won both the Galway Hurdle and the Galway Plate. He didn’t win the Galway Hurdle last year, but he gave Bedrock a superb ride, quietly quietly from the rear, finishing off his race to take fourth place behind Sharjah.
Bedrock seemed to benefit from that experience because, on his next run over hurdles, he won the Grade 3 Horse & Jockey Hurdle at Tipperary. On his next run after that, he beat Samcro and Sharjah in the WKD Hurdle at Down Royal.
O’Regan also gave Snugsborough Benny a lovely ride to win the Galway Blazers last year, and Liam Cusack’s horse is the headline horse – a real live Galway Plate contender – among the jockey’s book of rides for the week.