A RETURN of eight winners for Willie Mullins at the Galway Festival last year probably went under the line forecast at the start of the week but notably, among the octet was a highly sought first Connacht Hotel Qualified Riders Handicap for Patrick Mullins on Echoes In Rain.

The champion amateur rider had his first ride in the race all the way back in 2006 when a rainy forecast scuppered the chances for his mount Warrens Castle and had gone through a series of near misses in a long interim, so it had been well documented just how much he wanted to get this particular monkey off his back.

That was only feature race win for the Closutton team during the seven-day meeting and a slight drop on their return at recent previous festivals - they had 10 winners over the week on each of the three previous festivals to that, and 13 at the 2018 renewal. You’d bet odds on they’ll go over eight this time however.

Wednesday and Thursday have been the usual hotspots for them, when doubles, trebles and even four-timers have been hit, highlighted by wins in the two centrepiece races of the week, the Tote Galway Plate and Guinness Galway Hurdle. Willie will be well represented in both those races again but as ever, will also possess a significant threat in the two big staying handicaps on the flat.

Patrick Mullins spoke to The Irish Field this week to detail the team’s best chances in the feature races in which they are involved, and put up a few interesting horses to follow elsewhere as well.

Connacht Hotel Qualified Rider Handicap (Monday)

It was super to win it last year. I had my first ride in 2006 and it took me until 2023 to get the winner. It was definitely worth the wait and let’s hope it’s like the London buses.

We’ve got a few options but I thought Lot Of Joy and Scaramanga were the two with most room to improve, and maybe had the best form. It’s going to be very hard for Lot Of Joy with 12st. It’s very rare that there’s a winner that carries over 11st but the weights seem to be a bit more compressed this year.

When she was fourth in it last year, it was her first run for us so I think she has had more time to improve and those horses who have had a winter jumping, it really stands to them when they go back to the flat the next summer so I think she’s entitled to improve from her run last year but she has a lot of weight.

We probably were a little bit disappointed with her novice season over hurdles but she only disappointed at Cheltenham, where it’s obviously very hard, and in the Grade 1 at Fairyhouse, which was run on soft ground and was a funny kind of race.

Scaramanga had two runs on the flat for us last year and ran well, although he didn’t look fired in (off his mark) in two competitive handicaps. Those were his first two runs for us and I think he has had more time to improve now. He’s only eight and for me, he looks a much better horse this year than he did last year so there could be a bit of juice in his mark, albeit he did come from Paul Nicholls having run over jumps, so he probably has a little bit less scope to improve than Lot Of Joy.

Tote Galway Plate (Wednesday)

It’s a unique race with Hewick in it, a horse with his mark running in a handicap. It means that a horse like Kilcruit, off a mark of 160, is running under 11st 5lb, and that’s very unusual. That has to give him a super chance. Like Royal Rendezvous, he won at Punchestown but he’s also a horse with proper Grade 1 form. He should love the ground.

Easy Game is hugely consistent, he has won nine of his last 12. He was second in a Galway Plate off a very similar mark so again he has to be a great each way price with 11st 4lb.

Authorized Art is interesting as well. If you look at his second in a Grade 1 race in Limerick, he just could be well handicapped here. Maybe that was a slowly run race but he gets in with 10st 5lb and he has the right profile - a second season novice and lightly raced. I just thought he was a big price as well.

Guinness Galway Hurdle f(Thursday)

There has been only one four-year-old winner in my lifetime but I don’t think too many have tried. The race is worth 270,000, you could win three Grade 1s and not have the same money, so that’s the type of horse we’re keeping in for it now.

Zarak The Brave has had an interrupted preparation, he missed the middle of last season with colic, but if you look at his form, he gave 7lbs to Lossiemouth and he could be a similar type to the likes of Aramon, Saldier and Sharjah, in that he’s a Grade 1 horse. While he has plenty of weight, the Galway Hurdle is a race that high weights can win.

Tekao has a lovely mark but it’s a double edged sword. He might not get in, but if he does, I think everyone thinks he’s better than his mark. The worry would be that he boiled over in Cheltenham and he wears a hood. The first two hurdles could be very important for him.

Bialystok is another to have a look at. He is lightly raced, has a lovely weight, and lots of speed. Maybe the hill might catch him out but he’s an improving horse.

Guinness Handicap (Friday)

Jackfinbar was off for an awfully long time before he ran third in a listed race at Roscommon. The bounce is a question mark, but he came out of his race fine. There is a big difference from a small field conditions race to carrying top weight in a big field handicap. To me he is one that could be interesting in something like the Ebor but it’s going to be hard off top weight.

Elsewhere

We’ve got Rath Gaul Boy and High Class Hero for maiden hurdles. Sharjah will go for a beginners chase and we have Uncle Phil for a novice chase.

Absurde might run in a novice hurdle on Tuesday. He ran really well in the Ascot Stakes and could run here as a prep for the Ebor.

He’ll have a few options, on the flat as well, but wherever he turns up, he will be hard to beat.