17:40 Galway

Thursday 3 August 2023

All14:1014:4515:2015:5516:3017:0517:4018:10

Guinness 0.0 Handicap (50-70)

Off time: 17:40 | Winning time: 2m 42.07s

(17)

Butterfly Garden¹⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 10-2| J: Scott McCullagh⁽³⁾| T: K Prendergast| OR: 70| D

25/1

13/2, creditable fourth of 15 in handicap at Killarney (14.1f, good) 15 days ago. Should be on the premises again.

Form: 809934

(21)

Dream Escape³⁴

Age: 4| Weight: 10-2| J: Conor Stone-Walsh⁽⁷⁾| T: T Mullins| OR: 70

40/1

Lightly-raced maiden. Eighteenth of 22 in handicap at the Curragh (9f, good, 16/1) 34 days ago. Significantly up in trip. Others are more appealing.

Form: 7-650

(3)

Evans Secret^t⁷⁹

Age: 4| Weight: 10-0| J: Gavin Ryan| T: M M McNiff| OR: 68

40/1

Thrice-raced maiden. Sixth of 11 in maiden (40/1) at Sligo (13.2f, good to soft) 79 days ago. Makes handicap debut. Needs to improve.

Form: 84-6

(2)

Granville Street³⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 10-0| J: Dylan Browne McMonagle| T: Ciaran Murphy| OR: 68

11/1

Lightly-raced maiden. Creditable fourth of 12 in maiden at Ballinrobe (9.6f, good, 5/1) 38 days ago. Up in trip. Makes handicap debut with the potential for better.

Form: 53/22-4

(8)

Humanitarian^t²

Age: 7| Weight: 10-0| J: Gary Carroll| T: J J Hanlon| OR: 68| D

40/1

Quirky sort. Seventeen runs since last win in 2020. Twelfth of 18 in handicap at this course (8.6f, good to soft, 40/1) 2 days ago. Significantly back up in trip. Hard to make a strong case for.

Form: 7-86800

(10)

Out On Friday⁴⁸

Age: 7| Weight: 10-0| J: S D Bowen⁽⁷⁾| T: P Byrne| OR: 68| C| D

14/1

Course winner. 2 wins from 5 runs this year. Improved on recent efforts to win 13-runner handicap at Fairyhouse (12f, good, 6/1) 48 days ago, digging deep. Should go well again.

Form: 9-00811

(5)

Sign From Above^p³⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 10-0| J: Sam Ewing⁽³⁾| T: Peter Fahey| OR: 68| BF

9/2

Cheekpieces on for 1st time, creditable third of 12 in handicap (15/8) at Ballinrobe (12.8f, good) 38 days ago. Not dismissed.

Form: 9/4916-3

(6)

Stoke The Fire⁴⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 10-0| J: Colin Keane| T: W P Mullins| OR: 68| BF

5/4

Promising sort. Excellent second of 12 in handicap at Down Royal (12.8f, good, 5/4) 40 days ago. Leading claims.

Form: 0854/2

(4)

Chicago Storm¹⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 9-13| J: Ben Coen| T: Peter Fahey| OR: 67

33/1

11/2, below form third of 10 in claimer at Ballinrobe (9.4f, good to soft) 10 days ago. Back up in trip. Unlikely to feature.

Form: 550593

(19)

Grappa Nonino³³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-13| J: Chris Hayes| T: D K Weld| OR: 67

15/2

Winner at Killarney in May. 5/1, creditable tenth of 16 in handicap at the Curragh (16f, good) 33 days ago. Down in trip. Worthy of consideration for a stable enjoying an excellent festival.

Form: 064-210

(14)

Aghaboy²²⁰

Age: 4| Weight: 9-12| J: Seamie Heffernan| T: W P Mullins| OR: 66

14/1

Well-beaten seventh of 11 to Lossiemouth in Knight Frank Juvenile Hurdle (66/1) at Leopardstown (16f, soft). Off 7 months. Has potential on his first Flat outing for current stable, so not one to write off.

Form: 00/7627-

(20)

Beautiful Chaos¹⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 9-12| J: Jamie Powell⁽⁵⁾| T: R O'Sullivan| OR: 66

18/1

Seventh of 8 in handicap at Killarney (11.2f, good to soft, 11/2) 16 days ago. Others more persuasive.

Form: 61-0947

(15)

Sky Legend^t¹⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 9-12| J: J M Sheridan| T: D Hogan| OR: 66

28/1

Creditable eighth of 15 in handicap (33/1) at Killarney (14.1f, good) 15 days ago. Should strip fitter for that but others look better treated.

Form: 36-0388

(7)

All In Peder^b1²³

Age: 4| Weight: 9-11| J: Ronan Whelan| T: E Mullins| OR: 65

18/1

2 wins from 5 runs this year. 10/3, respectable sixth of 11 in handicap at Tramore (16f, good to soft) 23 days ago. Down in trip. Blinkers on 1st time. Merits consideration.

Form: 0-31136

(9)

Big Kitten³⁸

Age: 8| Weight: 9-11| J: Donagh O'Connor| T: J C McConnell| OR: 65

80/1

Twenty four runs since last win in 2018. Tenth of 12 in handicap (33/1) at Ballinrobe (12.8f, good) 38 days ago. Others make more appeal.

Form: 068000

(12)

Landue^h1⁴¹

Age: 8| Weight: 9-11| J: Karen Kenny⁽⁷⁾| T: Eamon Courtney| OR: 65| D

125/1

Thirteen runs since last win in 2018. Last of 10 in handicap at Limerick (17f, good, 100/1) 41 days ago. Down in trip. Hooded for 1st time. Hard to fancy.

Form: 06345/0

(11)

Slaney Tide^t⁶

Age: 3| Weight: 9-4| J: Rory Cleary| T: J S Bolger| OR: 68

33/1

Winner at Naas in July. 22/1, respectable eighth of 13 in handicap at Down Royal (12.8f, good to soft) 6 days ago. Not completely dismissed.

Form: 428018

(13)

Darkened^b,t³

Age: 7| Weight: 9-10| J: Shane Foley| T: D Hogan| OR: 64| C

16/1

Course winner. 8/1, below form sixth of 19 in handicap hurdle at this course (16.6f, soft) 3 days ago. Significantly back up in trip. Fair on the Flat, good on last Flat run.

Form: 05-7673

Non-Runners

(1)

Spring Evening²⁸

Weight: 9-4| Age: 3

T: Yvonne Latta J: Shane Foley

(16)

Meritorious⁶

Weight: 9-10| Age: 5

T: J C McConnell J: Reserve 1

(18)

Atlantic Island²⁹

Weight: 9-10| Age: 4

T: L Comer J: Reserve 3

Forecasts

Stoke The Fire (5/4), Sign From Above (9/2), Grappa Nonino (15/2), Atlantic Island (10/1), Granville Street (11/1), Out On Friday (14/1), Aghaboy (14/1), Darkened (16/1), Beautiful Chaos (18/1), All In Peder (18/1), Spring Evening (20/1), Butterfly Garden (25/1), Sky Legend (28/1), Chicago Storm (33/1), Slaney Tide (33/1), Evans Secret (40/1), Dream Escape (40/1), Humanitarian (40/1), Big Kitten (80/1), Landue (125/1), Meritorious (250/1)

STOKE THE FIRE was only denied by a well treated rival (who followed up) at Down Royal last time and, with the scope for better still, he's a confident choice to go one better. Granville Street and Out On Friday are two of the numerous dangers.