Different year, same story.
Dermot Weld, the acclaimed King of Galway, returned to his favourite hunting ground on Monday afternoon, rattling in a 155/1 opening day treble day together with a couple of seconds to leave punters and bookmakers alike marvelling at the Curragh handler’s ability to ready one for the unique test which is Ballybrit.
He’s still got a way to go to match last year’s staggering 17 winner haul, but he’s got the bit between his teeth and six days left to go to war, and anyone who snapped up the pre-meeting 11/8 with Paddy Power about him bagging 12 or more over the seven days is entitled to feel pretty satisfied at this stage.
The stage looks set for more of the same this afternoon, with Weld’s Rock Critic primed to run a mighty race off top weight in the feature Topaz Mile Handicap at 5.35pm (live on RTE) as the great trainer chases win number eight in the race.
As the most valuable Flat prize of the seven day meeting it’ll take some winning, but Rock Critic brings impeccable credentials to the table, with track, trip and ground all in his favour – in fact, he’s a dual course and distance winner who has won three races in total at this meeting.
What’s more, fascinatingly this is a horse who has never been beaten in the month of July!
Four runs, four wins (three of them at Galway don’t forget).
With a record like that and his stable targeting this meeting with a sniper’s accuracy he’s hard to ignore!
The draw has been kind enough (stall 8) and this robust course specialist will take the beating.
Weld nominated five horses to follow across the meeting in Saturday’s Racing Post, the first two Train Of Thought and Thunder Mountain won yesterday, the third is Rock Critic.
With that in mind the 9/2 available with any of Blue Square, Paddy Power or Coral makes plenty of appeal.
Perhaps the only negative is his big weight, in that over the last 20 years only four horses have managed to carry in excess of nine stone to victory in this race, but those stats also show it can be done, indeed Weld managed it with Free To Speak in 1998, and you’re usually top weight in a handicap for a reason!
More of the same this afternoon will do very nicely indeed!
Elsewhere on the card Weld can bring up a double courtesy of the very strongly fancied Big Break in the seven furlong fillies’ maiden.
With a couple of non-runners in the race you’ll have to be quick to snaffle some of the even money, but she’s well fancied to get the job done on debut.
Very well related, her half sister Zaminast won this first time up in 2010, and her brother Famous Name hasn’t exactly brought shame to the Weld household.
Big Break is available at evens with Sky Bet, Totesport and Betfred.
Over at Goodwood German colt Girolamo has to be the value angle to upset Michelangelo and Noble Mission in the bet365 Gordon Stakes (2.35pm, live on C4).
A very close third in the German Derby at Hamburg, connections will have been over the moon to see the winner of that race Pastorius win a Group 1 at Munich last weekend to provide a tidy form boost.
If you’d backed the last top-rated German horse to target an English Group prize you’d have found King George winner Danedream, who just happens to represent the very same trainer and jockey combo of Peter Schiergen and Andrasch Starke.
They won’t have come here just for a jolly, and proven at the level Girolamo can shake up some big names on the home team.
Grab a bit of 4/1 with any of Bet Victor, Blue Square, Paddy Power, Stan James or William Hill.
Also at Goodwood, Richard Hannon goes for his third win in the Lennox Stakes in the space of just five years, and although Strong Suit goes for Sunday’s Maurice de Gheest at Deauville he fields a more than able substitute in the form of Libranno, who ran very well to be fourth in the race in 2011.
Tough as nails Libranno is in the form of his life, winning two on the bounce at Salisbury and Newmarket.
He has a pair of course wins in Group company to his name, and with Richard Hughes up he can chin the heavily backed market leader Chachamaidee.
She gets a small weight allowance, but isn’t certain to appreciate the 4mm overnight rain and doesn’t always break well.
Any hanging around here could spell curtains against one as a good as Libranno.
Given that she’s 6/4 and he’s 9/2 I’ll happily row in the Hannon team’s son of Librettist.
Back to Galway though, and the great summer festival made an electric start on day one, with the rare commodity which is the sun beating down on a crowd of 17,710 (up on last year), and bookmakers taking in a healthy €1,412,596 (up from 2011’s €1,309,926).
Although the rain has arrived that won’t lessen the party atmosphere one iota – more of the same this afternoon will do very nicely indeed!
Good luck!
Tuesday’s best bets:
2.35 Goodwood – bet365 Gordon Stakes – 4 Girolamo (win) @ 4/1 (Bet Victor, Blue Square, Paddy Power, Stan James or William Hill)
3.10 Goodwood – bet365 Lennox Stakes – 3 Libranno (win) @ 9/2 (Bet365, Bet Victor, Blue Square, Paddy Power, Ladbrokes or Stan James)
5.35 Galway – Topaz Mile EBF Handicap – 1 Rock Critic (win) @ 9/2 (Blue Square, Paddy Power or Coral)
6.10 Galway – caulfieldindustrial.com EBF Fillies Maiden – 1 Big Break (win) @ Evens (Sky Bet or Betfred)
