Highlight of the day
The Tote Galway Plate is one of the summer gems in the Irish calendar and Gordon Elliott becoming the race’s most successful trainer in modern times is quite the achievement. It was also a popular result with the local crowd, with Danny Gilligan one of their own from Craughwell.
Ride of the day
It’s hard to imagine that most riders in the weighing room would have got Scott Key home in front, so Ben Coen deserves plenty of credit for lifting him home. Andy Slattery’s 18/1 shot missed the kick a little when leaping at the gates, yet Coen never panicked and allowed him to build into the race. The 23-year-old is extremely strong in a finish and extracted the maximum from his mount to strike by half a length.
Performance of the day
Given that he nearly came down when in the middle of a schmozzle approaching the turn for home, Teed Up did extremely well to win a race where plenty of connections fancied their chances.
Market mover of the day
The Plate was a lively enough market, with Buddy One well-backed in the morning (15/2 from 20/1), though Sea Music was the one for real late support. Emmet Mullins’ eventual fifth was 33/1 in the morning, 22/1 in the ring and returned at 10/1.
Even Western Fold attracted a bit of support, having been available at 22/1 earlier in the day and sent off at 11/1. Word For Word never landed a telling blow when seventh in the qualified riders’ maiden after being well backed, but John Murphy’s three-year-old will be eligible for a handicap mark now and could be worth watching. He was 25/1 in the morning, 8/1 in the ring and returned at 9/2. It takes a strong volume of cash to impact the shorter prices late in the ring, and there was reportedly a bullet dodged for many layers when Sujet could only finish third in the three-year-old handicap. Dermot Weld’s recent Curragh winner was thumped in the betting late on from 7/4 into evens.
In-running carnage
With conditions on the flat track easing as the day went on, there were some big swings late in the picture to the final two handicaps. Mile runner-up Refreshment (SP 18/1) touched 2/9 in-running, while the third, Mathan (10/1), went close to evens. The winner, Scott Key(18/1), hit a high of 37/1. Shoda looked to have done enough in the concluding two-mile event, touching 1/33, only to be mowed down close home by Teed Up (SP 7/1 but traded as high as 45/1 in-running). Even the 4/1 third, Light Up The Dark, traded at evens in-running. As for the National Hunt action, handicap hurdle runner-up High Court Cave (SP 11/2) went as short as 8/11 in the race won by Bal Kauto.
Eye-catcher of the day
Ross O’Sullivan was out of luck with his first three runners across the opening three days, but each of them ran with credit in defeat. Given he was badly impeded in the incident involving Teed Up, Harry’s Legacyran a cracking race to finish fourth at 33/1. He’s declared for a maiden hurdle back here on Saturday, but this run suggested he’s still capable of picking up a race on the flat during the second half of the season. He’d definitely have been closer with a clear run.
Stat of the day
The local knowledge that Danny Gilligan must have gained from growing up 20 minutes from Ballybrit looks to be yielding spectacular returns around here. Following his victory in the day-three feature, his record from only five rides in handicap chases at Galway read: 1st Galway Plate (Western Fold), 1st Galway Plate (Ash Tree Meadow), 1st Galway Blazers (Battleoverdoyen), 2nd Galway Plate (Duffle Coat) and 3rd Lord Hemphill Memorial (Pats Choice). He certainly appears to have the golden touch for some of the main events at this meeting, and there has been a growing maturity about his riding - especially in Jack Kennedy’s most recent spell on the sidelines The exciting thing is that he’s still only 19.
Quote of the day
“He’s a soldier we’ve leaned on plenty of times over the years and he keeps delivering the goods. I was sceptical enough coming back this year but no, he just seems to grow a leg going back up that hill” - Emmet Mullinsbought Teed Up for just €3,500 at the horses-in-training sales back in November 2021 and he has been a superb campaigner for connections.