17:45 Galway

Friday 31 July 2020

All16:4517:1517:4518:1518:4519:1519:4520:15

Guinness Galway Tribes Handicap Hurdle

Off time: 17:46 | Winning time: 3m 59.07s

Decor Irlandais¹⁴²

Age: 7| Weight: 11-10| J: Mr N McParlan⁽⁵⁾| T: N C Kelly| OR: 139

28/1

Smart novice represented himself well on both shores last season. Entitled to find the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle too much at the Cheltenham Festival (2m5f; soft). Drops in trip and goes well fresh so one to consider despite hefty weight.

Form: 124129-

Poseidon²⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 10-13| J: C A Landers⁽⁵⁾| T: C Byrnes| OR: 128| BF

11/1

Made winning return to action last month and is now 2lb better off with Ardamir after finishing fourth behind that rival at Bellewstown (2m; good) next time out. Unlikely to reverse the form but market check advised from this source.

Form: 2316-14

Fan De Blues¹⁸¹

Age: 5| Weight: 10-11| J: Paul Townend| T: W P Mullins| OR: 126

7/4

Declared a non-runner for Galway Hurdle in favour of getting into this contest. Posted better effort than finishing position would suggest when close-up seventh at Leopardstown (2m; yielding) in the Ladbrokes Hurdle. Plenty more to come after break.

Form: 542/317-

Bentham²³

Age: 6| Weight: 10-10| J: C P McNamara⁽⁵⁾| T: G P Cromwell| OR: 125| D

9/1

Avenged short-odds defeat (5/6f) at Limerick to go one better in comfortable fashion last time out. However, is seemingly held by Filon D'Oudairies on the form of their meeting two starts ago. Place claims at best.

Form: 4477-21

Shumaker⁷

Age: 8| Weight: 10-10| J: Darragh O'Keeffe| T: Paul Traynor| OR: 125

22/1

3lb worse off with Future Proof after he got the better of that rival earlier in the year. Been in rude health on the level recently winning two in a row. Not disgraced when last seen over hurdles but never won off a mark as high as this.

Form: 3P1085-

Ardamir²⁷

Age: 8| Weight: 10-9| J: Sean O'Keeffe⁽⁵⁾| T: G Elliott| OR: 124| D

16/1

Showed a likeable attitude to deny the staying-on Zoffalee when winning for the first time in over four years at Bellewstown (2m; good). 7lb higher mark demands more but riders claim offsets 5lb of that so claims on just fourth start for the yard.

Form: 837/28-1

Filon D'Oudairies^t³⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 10-9| J: Mark Walsh| T: J P O'Brien| OR: 124

7/1

Stepped up significantly on previous showings when benefitting for a short break and the return to better ground to break his duck at Limerick (2m; good) last month. Now switched back into handicap company and a likely candidate.

Form: 58/860-1

Future Proof^b⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 10-9| J: E Walsh⁽⁷⁾| T: N Meade| OR: 124

18/1

Emphatic breakthrough hurdles success came on deep ground. Overall profile suggests he does want soft/heavy. Although he will likely strip fitter for recent run on the level and has form claims, the rain is key to his chances.

Form: 43P021-

Goodbye Someday¹³

Age: 6| Weight: 10-6| J: D F O'Regan| T: J E Kiely| OR: 121

7/2

Finally off the mark over hurdles with a bloodless success at Tramore (2m5f; yielding). Has experience in big-field handicaps which is handy. Drop back to 2m unlikely to pose any problems and should play a part.

Form: 62R6-31

Nibblers Charm^p¹⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 10-2| J: Simon Torrens⁽⁷⁾| T: R Hackett| OR: 117

12/1

Represented himself well against strong opposition in maidens on the flat on either start so far this year. Should be cherry ripe for this assignment and he is unexposed over this trip in handicaps. Worth a market check.

Form: 901217-

Leahman²¹

Age: 4| Weight: 10-0| J: K J Brouder| T: T O'Brien| OR: 121

20/1

Improved from first run of the year to find just one too good when second on the flat at the Curragh (1m4f; good) recently. Shown ability over hurdles last year, and is an intriguing sort on handicap debut.

Form: 48164-

Nibiru^t¹⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 10-0| J: A W Short⁽³⁾| T: A J Martin| OR: 115| D

66/1

These shrewd connections are always respected at the big Irish festivals. Extremely difficult to make a case on recent form. Eased down when last seen over hurdles, & finished last at Killarney (1m;good) on the level earlier this month.

Form: 3/33190-

Western Boy¹¹

Age: 11| Weight: 10-0| J: N P Madden| T: P A Fahy| OR: 115

25/1

Sprung 25-1 surprise when making a winning return to action on the flat at Ballinrobe (1m5f; good) last week Now switches back to hurdles and bit to find on his recent form. Not won over hurdles for three years so looks vulnerable to improvers.

Form: 070504/

Fightfortheroses^b1²³

Age: 5| Weight: 9-13| J: C J Orr⁽⁵⁾| T: E Bolger| OR: 114| BF

33/1

Failed to run anywhere near market expectations (sent off 3-1f) on stable debut when well-held at Bellewstown (2m4f; good to yielding) recently. Still unexposed in this sphere, but a surprise how poor he has ran the last twice.

Form: 53220-0

Tomeric²¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 9-12| J: Gavin Brouder⁽⁷⁾| T: E McNamara| OR: 111

33/1

First reserve. 215-day absence to overcome. May have his confidence back after he finished third in a novice hurdle when last seen after falling on just his second handicap start prior to that. Bit to find on form though.

Form: 2U17F3-

Non-Runners

Star Maker²⁷²

Weight: 10-13| Age: 6

T: G Elliott J: D N Russell

Rasiym¹⁴

Weight: 10-11| Age: 5

T: E J O'Grady J: Rachael Blackmore

The Mouse Doctor²⁶

Weight: 10-2| Age: 7

T: A J Martin J: Phillip Enright

Mandarin Monarch³

Weight: 10-0| Age: 7

T: A McNamara J: D J Mullins

Wait Here²⁷¹

Weight: 9-12| Age: 7

T: A Leahy J: Reserve 2

Tara Dylan²

Weight: 9-12| Age: 8

T: T Mullins J: Reserve 3

Forecasts

Fan De Blues (7/4), Goodbye Someday (7/2), Rasiym (6/1), Filon D'Oudairies (7/1), Bentham (9/1), Star Maker (10/1), Poseidon (11/1), Nibblers Charm (12/1), Ardamir (16/1), Mandarin Monarch (16/1), Wait Here (16/1), The Mouse Doctor (16/1), Future Proof (18/1), Leahman (20/1), Shumaker (22/1), Western Boy (25/1), Tara Dylan (25/1), Decor Irlandais (28/1), Fightfortheroses (33/1), Tomeric (33/1), Nibiru (66/1)

A fiendishly difficult puzzle to solve with most of these difficult to rule out completely including Goodbye Someday, Future Proof, Ardamir and Filon D'Oudairies. Décor Irlandais is an interesting runner. He has a tough task off top-weight but has won fresh & only improved throughout last season. Given the stables record in handicaps at this meeting, The Mouse Doctor is strongly considered especially if the money came for him. However, on just his third start for Willie Mullins, FAN DE BLUES is the selection. He made a solid handicap debut in the Ladbrokes Hurdle five months ago and can build on that off just a 1lb higher mark.