The Galway Plate is one of the highlights of the summer jumps programme on both sides of the Irish Sea. It’s always a very competitive race and often contains a high calibre of horses. This can make it a bit of a puzzle so we’ve picked three important factors to consider. These factors have led us to a 25-1 tip for the big race on Wednesday. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
The ground is likely to be on the softer side as there’s plenty of rain in the forecast. Willie Mullins’ Kilcruit has had three starts on soft, winning twice and finishing second once. Hollow Games is a two-time winner on soft ground and also has a solid record on yielding and heavy. Andy Dufresne has run on soft six times, winning three times and placing twice.
There are a couple of particularly unexposed runners in this race. Both Fury Road and Enniskerry are unknown quantities off their respective marks of 155 and 148. The only handicap Fury Road has ever run in is the Grand National and not much can be learnt from that unique test. Enniskerry is a far better chaser than hurdler and he has a record of two wins from three starts over fences, none of which have come in handicap company.
Barry Connell’s Enniskerry again looks good in this category, having won once and finished second in his two starts at Galway. Hewick won this race last year and has a 50 per cent strike-rate here but the threat of rain-softened ground makes his participation doubtful.
Andy Dufresne (25-1, bet365) hasn’t raced over this far since winning his sole Irish point over three miles. One look at his pedigree would tell you that the return to longer trips is overdue. He’s down to a nice mark and should thrive in the soft ground. This horse can be a tricky one to get right but he possesses plenty of ability and has at least one big prize in him.
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