Gavin Cromwell
Gavin Cromwell’s William Hill blog: Galway Festival preview
William Hill ambassador Gavin Cromwell previews his runners for this week’s Galway Festival, as well as casting an eye over runners at Goodwood and Wolverhampton.
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Monday, Galway
We have a good number of runners at the Galway Festival this week and we start out with Tell Us This in the 2m½f Handicap Hurdle on Monday (5.40pm). He’s up 11 pounds for his win at Downpatrick two weeks ago, which is a big ask. Eoin Staples was good value for his seven-pound claim and he’ll take the ride again.
It’s going to be difficult to improve enough here but he was a good winner the last day and if he can reproduce a similar run then he might not be too far away.
Wednesday, Galway
We have four runners on Wednesday, the first of which is Ahead Of The Posse in the 2m6f Handicap Hurdle (5.35pm). He also won last time out but has only been put up two pounds for that. He was good that day and showed signs of being back to his old self.
We’re happy with him at home and I’d be surprised if he doesn’t run well again here, whether that’ll be enough for him to hit the frame again, I’m not sure.
The big race of the day is the Galway Plate (6.40pm) where we run Thecompanysergeant. He’s entered in a Listed Hurdle on Saturday as well and I can’t rule that out, but this race is the priority.
He’s in good form at home and I don’t see why he can’t produce a similar performance here to his run in the Plate at Cheltenham. The Galway Plate is always a helter-skelter race and he’ll need to get off to a good start and put in a clear round of jumping. The trip should be ideal; he should handle the track fine and I don’t see a reason why he can’t be involved in the finish. I’d say he’s probably one of our best chances of a winner this week.
Pinot Gris won’t take up his entry in the 2m½f Handicap, but we do have Empress Alma in there off a nice low weight. She’s drawn 19 which is far from ideal, but if they go a good gallop over the two miles then hopefully she could come home well. She’ll need some luck from that draw but if they go hard then hopefully she can pick a few up coming home.
Thursday, Galway
We have Earls entered in the 1m½f Handicap on Thursday (2.45pm) and he’s likely to take his chance despite only running last weekend. He ran well on ground that was probably just a bit too quick for him and there’s rain forecast this week which should help him.
On slower ground up the hill in Galway I think he could run well. His mark is coming down and I was happy enough with his last run. He’s definitely showing signs that he could win off his current mark.
Fiery Lucy runs in the Fillies & Mares Listed race over seven furlongs (3.20pm). She’s been ultra consistent this season and has been unlucky not to get her head in front having bumped into some good horses.
She goes back into fillies and mares company and I don’t see why she won’t be competitive here. I don’t think there’s one specific thing we need to change for her to win one of these races, things just need to fall right for her on the day. We’re really happy with her so far and she’s another of our better chances this week.
Invincible Will makes his handicap debut in the Nursery Handicap over seven furlongs (3.55pm). It was an encouraging run the last day and I think an opening mark of 73 is fair for him but he can run well off that. If he settles then I think the seven furlong trip is ideal for him at the moment.
We did have two entered in the Grade 3 Galway Hurdle (5.35pm) but Hello Neighbour has unfortunately suffered a setback which rules him out until the winter, meaning he also won’t make the Ebor next month. It’s not a long-term and he should be back before Christmas.
We do still have Addragoole running and he’s in off a nice racing weight. He’s right down the bottom of the market but I think he’s capable of running well. Whether that would mean running well enough to win a Galway Hurdle, I’m not so sure. He can certainly justify his place in the race and run well.
We finish off Thursday with Welonlyhavedone in the bumper (6.10pm). He goes very well at home, I like him a lot and I’m expecting him to run very well here. It’s his first day on the track for us and we’ll be hoping he progresses for it, but I’d still be disappointed if he doesn’t run well here.
Saturday, Galway
We have two entries on Saturday, both of which are in the Listed Hurdle over 2m6½f. Thecompanysergeant holds an entry here and it’ll be a case of waiting to see what happens with his run in the Galway Plate. It’s a nice pot and we’d like to be able to run him here as well.
We also have Tonaghneave Well who is in good form at home after winning on his reappearance at Downpatrick. He’s been put up six pounds for that so he’ll have to take another step forward and produce a career best to win this race. He’s still a young horse so we’re hoping he can continue to be progressive.
Chances at Goodwood and Wolverhampton
Away from the Galway Festival, we also have two runners on the Flat in the UK this week. Kayhana will run at Goodwood in the Fillies’ Handicap on Wednesday over 1m2f (3.45), stepping in grade from her run in the Kensington Palace at Royal Ascot. We went forward with her there and she just travelled too strongly and didn’t really give herself a chance to get home.
She’s in good form at home and the step up in trip should suit here. We would’ve preferred the ground to be a little slower but it is what it is and we’ll still take our chance.
It has been a while since our last runner at Wolverhampton but we have Londonofficecallin running there on Thursday in the Racing League. He goes in the 1m6f handicap (6.45pm) and I’m hoping he’ll run well there. We’ve had seven winners from 20 runners at the track so hopefully we can keep that strike rate on the high side.
