TRYING to find potential Galway winners before they run at Killarney, which serves as a preparation run for many Galway-bound horses, is a bit like trying to predict the winner of the All-Ireland watching pre-season challenge matches or in some cases, the final rounds of the qualifiers.

It’s not to suggest anything untoward or to demean the very popular meeting in Kerry. Killarney is a very good place to win and there are plenty of local trainers who will hold the meeting in a higher stature than the seven-day show out in the west. But for many, Galway is Galway and with the prize money for the week now exceeding €2 million (every race worth at least €15,000) it makes perfect sense for connections to have one eye focused on Ballybrit.

The target for many trainers this week will be to have their horses come out of the Kerry venue in top shape fitness-wise, while other trainers will be looking for that elusive win to ensure a shot at one of the big feature races in Galway.

Here are three horses who could well need highlighting in the notebook with Galway in mind:

Killiney Court (Grade B Dick And Mary Butler Memorial Handicap Chase, 7:50 tomorrow)

Henry de Bromhead’s eight-year-old has only run seven times over fences but he has won three times. He joined the trainer from Colm Murphy’s yard last September and from there won on his next two starts, both over fences, the second of which was at Galway, where he was impressive in a novice chase. He was then given a break for the winter and returned for the Close Brothers Handicap Chase on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival where he was in the process of running a huge race before coming down at the second last.

The kicker is his next run, his latest appearance, which was disappointing - he was well beaten at Listowel - and so he has to put that behind him. That said, the run was probably too bad to be true and he can be excused on account of his crashing fall at Cheltenham. Off a mark of 132, he probably needs to win on Tuesday to ensure connections have the option of running him in the Galway Plate. If he does win, or runs well in second or third, he is of big interest for the Plate. His profile would look very good - an unexposed eight-year-old, proven at the course, coming in off a good run and representing a top trainer who won the race in 2015.

Lagostovegas (multiple entries, Wednesday/Thursday)

Formerly trained by David Harry Kelly, Lagostovegas was all the rage on his first start for Willie Mullins for the valuable handicap hurdle won by St Stephen’s Green at this meeting earlier in the summer but he ran no sort of race and was pulled up. The five-year-old seemed to clip heels with another runner just as the field was heading out towards the back straight and perhaps that was the reason for such a poor show.

In any case, he is still of interest for Galway, now that Mullins has had more time to shape him. He has several options this week at Killarney, on the flat and over hurdles and it will be interesting to see which way he goes. He may need to win if Mullins wants to run him in one of the feature races at Galway, which would presumably be either the two-mile amateur riders' handicap on Monday or the Galway Hurdle on Thursday. He finished a creditable seventh in the Monday feature last year and given his trainer’s stock as a flat horse handler continues to rise, that could be the race for him again.

Lachares (two entries on Wednesday - MC Group Handicap, Dawn Milk Run Handicap Hurdle)

This four-year-old son of Manduro has gone from strength to strength over hurdles for Ellmarie Holden, improving from a rating of 109 to his current mark of 132. He has been given two options at Killarney this week, one on the flat and one over hurdles and he is of interest for both. He won last time out at Kilbeggan, and Holden might be thinking of the Galway Hurdle for him. If so he’ll probably need to win this week to get into that race. But it wouldn’t be a disaster if he didn’t win and if he didn’t run all that well either. He may be a horse that needs soft ground and he is unlikely to get that this week. He might get it at Galway still. And in any case, he looks like he could be a well-treated horse now on the flat, where he has only had four runs, and only one of which has been for Holden.

He is rated 74 on the flat and that looks favourable compared to his National Hunt rating. And if Holden does want to run him on the flat, she has plenty of options for him at Galway.

CARAVAGGIO UP TO A MILE?

It’s disappointing when an unbeaten horse gets beaten. You always have that hope for perfection. Caravaggio was perfect until Saturday when he just couldn’t produce his usual jet-turbo finish to reel in his big rival Harry Angel.

It was still a good run in a good race but now he has a ‘4’ on his form book instead of a group of ‘1s’ and now he has a little to prove, having previously looked near unstoppable.

The show goes on but to where next? The six-furlong, newly-invented Everest Stakes, held at Randwick in Sydney, worth an obscene A$10 million, is still an option for Caravaggio and Aidan O’Brien maintains the colt has buckets of speed. But the more immediate plans for Commonwealth Cup winner are interesting.

Could Caravaggio get a chance to run over a mile?

John Magnier suggested the Prix Maurice De Gheest, a six and a half furlong contest at Deauville next month. Is the train of thought that the extra half furlong might help the son of Scat Daddy use his finishing burst to better effect? More ground to run into and more time to get organised if Caravaggio gives away ground again coming out of the stalls.

In each of his last three races, he has looked at his strongest at the line. So if that is the train of thought, it wouldn’t be too surprising if racing over a mile came into the equation for Caravaggio. Possibly towards the end of the season. Possibly the QEII on QIPCO Champions Day at Ascot.

NO MORE TOTE BETS FOR CHILDREN AT THE RACES

The first bets I ever placed were on the Tote. Before racing started, I used to go up and ask a cashier for a €10 cash voucher and then do a series of €1 bets on each race on the card using the touch-screen machines. I would then stuff the 10 tickets into my wallet and frequently peruse them during the day. It was back when value-betting sounded dumb and when €2 win on the second favourite was solid strategy. A simple way of betting when times were more simple.

It’s sad to hear this sort of experience will no longer be available to children attending Irish racecourses, with incoming legislation set to make it illegal for all under-18s to engage in any form of gambling, bringing Tote betting under that umbrella.

Grace O'Halloran, Fleur Mullan and Roisin O'Halloran did their bets with the Tote at Leopardstown on Thursday

I wonder would the Tote or HRI move to make a case for an exemption? The Tote is a fairly useful tool for attracting not only youngsters but racing novices into having a bet and is probably seen as a much less intimidating means of backing a horse than entering the traditional bookmaker ring.

There are people who go racing once or twice a year who will only bet on the Tote, primarily because that’s the means of which they are familiar, with the Tote likely to be their first experience of betting at the racecourse. To take away this first experience may well end up taking away a large pool of potential customers, which can only do harm to the Tote and to Irish racing.