Barry Geraghty
Barry Geraghty’s William Hill blog: Solness to outrun his price in Galway Hurdle
William Hill ambassador Barry Geraghty previews the Galway Plate and Hurdle as well as the best of the other Jumps action on Wednesday and Thursday from Ballybrit.
Galway is such a tricky track – fences come at you quickly, on the turn – so course form counts for a lot. It’s a little bit akin to Cheltenham but it’s even tighter, and then you’ve got such a stiff finish of two-and-a-half furlongs uphill from the last fence. It’s a proper test and you need a horse with pace, one that jumps well and is willing to take you through a race and not duck out of a challenge. If you’re a little bit shy of the big occasion, you will be found out.
Galway, Wednesday
Wednesday’s big race is the Grade 3 Galway Plate (6:40pm), and I like WILL THE WISE here. He ran a big race when behind Madara in the Plate at Cheltenham and then followed that by winning the Topham at Aintree.
He was a winner at Galway last October when he put in a brilliant round of jumping to win from the front. He has a tendency to jump a little bit to the right, which is going to work well for him in Galway. That would have been an inconvenience to him at Cheltenham and Aintree, but he still overcame it.
I think there’s potentially more to come from him, but importantly, he’s got that course form, he has proven he gets up the hill and has the right attitude for this place.
It’s a brilliant race, as you would expect, and I don’t think there’s an awful lot between him and Downmexicoway on their past efforts, but it’s Will The Wise’s course form that just sways it for me.
Galway, Thursday
The Grade 3 Novice Chase (3:20pm) is another really open and competitive contest, and some big yards are represented. I thought WILD BILL HICKOK jumped much better when he won in Roscommon last time. He made some mistakes previously when finishing well behind Work Ahead in Wexford the time before, but his jumping improved dramatically last time and he reversed the form with that rival. He gets the four-year-old allowance here which leaves him nicely in at the weights. To me he looks progressive and would just shade the verdict in a tight race.
I thought MIDNIGHT JET won like a horse that could step up again when he landed the spoils at Killarney in May, and he might be the one in the two-and-a-half-mile novice hurdle (3:55pm). That win at Killarney was a step up on his performance when winning at Fairyhouse the time before. Henry’s [de Bromhead] horses have a tendency to improve on the dryer ground, and I think he’s a horse going the right way.
Thursday’s feature, the Grade 3 Galway Hurdle (4:30pm) is another open contest. El Cairos looked a smart horse before he fell during the winter but he hasn’t really delivered since. He still has questions to answer, especially at a track that has a tendency to expose any weakness.
A horse that is proven at this level and will love the course is SOLNESS. He’s done almost all his winning over fences and was in excellent form last season, including when running Grey Dawning to a neck in the Grade 1 Melling Chase in Aintree. He did win a hurdle in Sligo two years ago though, and that was after having 12 runs over fences, but he still jumped slickly there. For me, he proved that day that he was versatile and that time spent over fences doesn’t affect his technique over a hurdle.
Given the pace he showed when winning top-class Grade 1 chases from the front, like when beating Marine Nationale in Leopardstown last Christmas, he should have the speed required for this.
He’s 11 pounds lower over hurdles compared to his chase mark. Joseph O’Brien is winning all over the place too, and you know he wouldn’t have brought him here for the good of his health. I think he’s a horse that could massively outrun his odds in an open race.
