It was a very tough day today and only Shanghai Glory
managed to hit the frame for us at 16/1. He was an unlucky 5th having been
hampered around 3f out and he did well to finish as close as he did. Lucky
Beggar was carried right across the track in the opener and only for that he
might have challenged for a place. Across Dubai looked to be travelling well at
one stage but his effort petered out in the closing stages. There was a bit of
money for Jufn but he never got to the front and he is one to keep a close eye
on next time out.
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| Stephen Mahon will be desperate to get a winner at Galway. |
Jarob was probably my biggest fancy of the day but
unfortunately he was scratched. Spirit Of Dreams ran a promising enough race to
finish 5th in the nursery and I think another furlong would be a big help to
him as he stayed on after getting outpaced. Fastidious did too much too soon
and he is one to watch out for at Dundalk later in the season. Total Demolition
didn’t disgrace himself but he had to challenge widest of all and at Galway
that rarely ends well. Tomorrow I will be backing just one horse at Galway, and
I think Afatcat can outrun his odds for local trainer Stephen Mahon.
A Galway Festival without a Mahon winner is a rare occurrence
but unless he gets one tomorrow it will be a reality. He has had a few horses
run well, USA and Stormey for example, but I think Afatcat represents one of
his best chances of the week in the opening handicap hurdle at 14.15. This
former course and distance winner is burdened with top weight off a mark of
114, but Conor Brassil eases the burden with his 4lb claim and that could make
a big difference for this 9yo son of Araafa.
This fella is at his very best on decent ground, but he has
plenty of placed form in the book on soft, including around here. He has had
four runs since the start of May and he has been ultra consistent without getting
his head in front. He is likely to have been campaigned with this race firmly
in mind and he ran a lovely last prep race at Limerick (16f gd) a month ago. He
was a good 5th under Robbie Dunne and he should be in peak condition tomorrow.
He is a pound lower than when runner up at this festival on
good ground last season and that was a race he should have won. Chris Timmons
lost his irons after the last and he ended up being beaten just half a length
by Camlann. He was also a good 2nd here in July 2015 on soft off a mark of 93,
beaten just a couple of lengths by the exceedingly well handicapped Dollar And
A Dream.
The booking of Conor Brassil is a plus in my view and he
is a jockey with a big future. He is worth every ounce of his 4lb claim and he
has 2 wins and 4 top 4 finishes from 18 rides for Mahon. It is an interesting
stat that Afatcat has been claimer ridden for 3 of his 4 career wins and he has
been at least 10/1 for 3 out of the 4 wins also. Mahon will be desperate to get
a winner on the board so you can be sure this lad will be doing his best and
once the ground doesn’t turn heavy I think he is well worth backing each way at
20/1 with 5 places on offer from a number of bookies.
STEVOS’ SELECTION:
14.15 GALWAY-AFATCAT E/W @ 20/1 (5 places)
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