THE last time Jim Bolger sent out a bumper winner, it was none other than champion mare Annie Power - a winner at this meeting in 2012 - and the legendary trainer has high hopes for his latest National Hunt torchbearer Teofil after victory in the concluding Ray Dooley Monami Construction Bumper.

There were some lofty reputations in this four-year-old-only event, with strong vibes noted around the track for each of the first five home, trained by Joseph O’Brien, Gordon Elliott, Ciaran Murphy and Willie Mullins.

It was to 7/2 shot Teofil’s credit that he managed to prevail by a neck from Which Flannerys, having received a bump in the closing stages when strongly pressed by that rival. John Gleeson (despite a slipped saddle) was strong on the home-bred winner, who had previously caught the eye when second in a Punchestown Festival bumper on debut (went unsold later that week at €135,000 in the Goffs Punchestown Sale).

Bolger said: “The pace was a bit slow for him at Punchestown and it didn’t suit him too well. Willie’s horse [Delamotte] won well anyway, but he would have run a better race at Punchestown with more pace. He was kind of doing his own pace there today and it worked out well.

“I think he’ll stay well, I’m also hoping that maybe one day he’ll win the Champion Chase, when he gets better ground.”

On whether the Teofilo gelding is likely to be sold, he added: “No, I wouldn’t mind training him, I’d be happy enough. I’ve reduced numbers now, I can give it more time!

“Annie Power went to Wexford for a winners’ bumper there and I might do that. Otherwise, he’ll be going on the flat. He would have won a mile-and-a-half maiden at the back-end [of last season], but I decided we’d wait. It was the same with Annie Power.”

Timurshah’s hat-trick

Front runners in the two-mile Easyfix Iggy Daly Handicap Hurdle weren’t for catching and it led to a first Galway Festival success for trainer Aidan Melia and jockey Conor Smithers through the in-form Timurshah (12/1). Michelle Connolly’s ex-Aga Khan-owned five-year-old started the season on a mark of 93, winning at Clonmel and Sligo before scooting home six and a half lengths in front of Whats New off a career-high rating of 109 on Monday.

Smithers has been aboard for each of the improver’s three wins and said: “He’ll get another fair hike again for this, but he’s been super and is going from strength to strength. Aidan has done a great job with him and really knows what he’s doing with his horses.

“I’m delighted to ride a winner at Galway, and for Aidan, who only lives around the corner from me. We always grew up on the same hunt. It’s a deadly feeling. That’s my fourth winner from five rides for Aidan, I owe him a lot because he took me out of the freezer.

“Things had been very quiet. I found it very hard for a long time and it gets you down sometimes, but thankfully this lad came along. I did consider trying something else, but I don’t want to do anything else other than this. I can’t get away from this, I couldn’t do anything else.”

THERE was nothing unusual about the beginning of the 2026 Galway Festival, when Willie Mullins again supplied the winner of the Galmont Hotel & The Galway Bay Hotel Novice Hurdle; this time with the impressive Witches Familiar (13/8 favourite).

Paul Townend exuded confidence on Susannah Ricci’s Ballinrobe maiden hurdle winner and she eased eight and a half lengths clear of former stablemate Mino Des Mottes to follow in the footsteps of stablemates Mystical Power and Davy Crockett, who previously won this race.

“We kept her for Galway, after she won so easily first time up,” said Mullins of the now 8/1 chance for next March’s Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.

“We had her in for a lot of last season, but we kept her as a novice; we thought she was a bit better than the average novice. You won’t get too many Zaraks now for jumping-bred mares, so it’s nice to have a filly going jumping by him.

“She did it well and she’s one that we think a bit of. We’ll up her in grade as best we can. I’d probably be looking at her as a Royal Bond type of filly. I can see her being a good mare in novice company for the whole season. I’d be looking at the longer term rather than shorter term with her.”

‘Man of the moment’

It would be no surprise whatsoever if Noel Meade’s phone is ringing with interest in Madbadanddangerous after Seamus Hunt’s Ulster Derby winner followed up under top weight in the Gra Chocolates Handicap - helped by an inspired Colin Keane.

Willie Mullins looked on his way to a double when Sharkeyboy edged his way to the front in the straight, but last weekend’s King George-winning rider timed his challenge to perfection to get on top by a neck close home.

Meade said of the 11/2 winner: “He’s a nice horse and the easy ground was a help. Colin said he’d go further and two miles wouldn’t be a problem.

“We could maybe head for the Cesarewitch [at the Curragh] or something like that, I don’t know if a three-year-old could win the Cesarewitch? Maybe he might. It’s worth a lot of money, so we’ll go there. It was a good performance with the weight and we had the man of the moment.”

Asked about the possibility of a hurdling avenue for the Coulsty gelding, Meade added: “We’ll paddle on with the flat for the moment. I’d say he’d jump hurdles - he’s a big horse - but we’ll see how far we can get on the flat first.”

PADDY Twomey has used Galway’s two-year-old maidens as a launchpad to Group 1 targets with Purple Lily in the past and he’s entitled to have some sizeable targets in mind for Trean after the Bayside Boy colt bolted up in the seven-furlong Eventus Irish EBF Maiden.

The €20,000 value buy from Book 1 of last year’s Goffs Orby Sale looked a maiden winner waiting to happen after flashing home for third on his Fairyhouse debut before failing to reproduce that level in a red-hot Curragh maiden on Irish Derby weekend.

This was much more like it from the Red Lily Racing Syndicate’s colt, who made all to score by four and three-quarter lengths in the same race that Constitution River landed 12 months ago.

“He had a very good debut, I think he’s a very good horse,” said Twomey.

“Obviously, the stable was just under a cloud around Ascot time, into the Irish Derby, and we just took back with the two-year-olds and gave them a chance.

“He’s in the National Stakes - he’s in pretty much everything. I think Bayside Boy is a very good stallion and I think this is a very good horse.”

Handicap ‘good thing’

Many a well-handicapped horse has come unstuck at Ballybrit, but the 16lb that Dancing Saxon officially had in hand after a listed second last week proved more than enough of a buffer for her to collect in the seven-furlong Clayton Hotel Galway Handicap for three-year-olds.

Perhaps the biggest surprise about this four-and-a-quarter-length victory under Dylan Browne McMonagle was the final SP. Fishdance Limited’s Saxon Warrior filly - a half-sister to high-class miler Dancing Gemini - returned an easy-to-back 13/8 favourite, dominating her rivals to bring up a double on the day for Joseph O’Brien.

“She hasn’t coped with soft ground like that before, but I thought Dylan gave her a fantastic ride,” said the winning trainer.

“The pace was very strong early and he was cool, and then he moved at the right time. She obviously was well handicapped.

“She’ll probably step back into stakes company now and we’ll see if we can get some more blacktype. David and Linda Fish will breed from her in the long term.”