Wednesday marks the third of seven days at Galway for its mixed-code Festival, with the evening card running from 5.10 until 8.20.
Below are a couple of tips for Day 3 – including one in the featured Galway Plate.
6.40 – The Goffer e/w @ 14/1
Wednesday’s feature race is the Galway Plate – a handicap chase over 2m6½f. The prize that awaits the winner? A cool €159,300.
It’s Kilcruit for the red-hot Willie Mullins that heads this competitive field of 22, but it’s one of six for Gordon Elliott that takes my fancy.
The Goffer was highly-progressive last season, starting with a modest effort in a beginners’ chase in October 2022 and ending with three big performances in competitive handicaps – including his fourth in the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival – throughout February-April 2023.
That run at HQ was a career-best for this six-year-old son of Yeats, and the Galway Plate on what’s forecast to be soft ground is an assignment much closer to that than the marathon trips he was tackling at the end of the season. He looks sure to appreciate it.
This is an incredibly tricky race, so if you are having a bet I advise making it each-way – especially with Betfred paying 5 places.
7.50 – High Class Hero @ 15/8
I’m opposing the great Willie Mullins in the Galway Plate, but not in this maiden hurdle over 2m5f.
The 130-rated Tag Man for Henry De Bromhead clearly sets the standard here, but not an unreachable one. I think Mullins’ High Class Hero looks pretty smart and is well worth chancing at current prices.
An exciting point-to-point recruit by the same sire as a certain Honeysuckle, the six-year-old has a fair reputation – especially now the form of his bumper win at Listowel nearly two months ago has been franked multiple times by a horse of John McConnell’s called Kinbara.
The latter has subsequently bolted up in a couple of novice hurdles by a combined 36L, which it’s fair to say speaks favourably for the selection who beat him by over 6L with minimum fuss.
The fact Paul Townend is on board tells us he’s the pick of the yard’s trio, so everything points towards a big run from the hurdling debutant.
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