Galway – Tuesday 5th October

It’s always nice to start the week in good style and that was exactly what happened at Tipperary yesterday, as both selections ran with tremendous credit. Yafordadoe, who has been a horse that has always run his race for me, got his deserved head in front, while Casanova ran a good race back in fourth behind an impressive winner of the Group contest. We now move back to the jumps action at Galway, with an appetising card taking place.

Starting off with the opening maiden hurdle over 2m3f at 1.15, which sees a good field go to post. I quite fancy the chances of the Gordon Elliot trained, Gringo D’Aubrelle, with Davy Russell taking the ride. Having won quite impressively in a point to point, this horse disappointed in his only start in bumpers last year when beaten a while by Noble Yeats. That form still looks solid and the step up on trip on slightly nicer ground should unlock plenty of improvement. The addition of obstacles in front of him should also help massively. At a general price of 5/2, he should be backed. 

The 1.45 race is an interesting contest over 2m3f and this handicap hurdle has a field of 14 going to post. Plenty of these are exposed types and as a result, preference lies with Balkito, for the Barry Connell team. This horse has done his running in his three maiden hurdles and makes his handicap/seasonal debut in a winnable race. There were more than a few glimpses of promise within those maiden hurdles and he now steps up in trip for this handicap debut, which could well be a telling manoeuvre. Off this sort of mark, he should be able to make his presence felt. At a price of 9/1, with William Hill offering 4 places, I’ll be backing each way.

The final selection today comes from the 3.30 race, which is a fascinating beginners chase over 2m2f. I feel I’m going to repeat by talking about the exciting Noble Yeats, who runs in this quality renewal. I think this is a horse of the highest quality, and I would be hopeful that he could scale the heights into being a good novice this year for the former owners of The Shunter. He accounted for a maiden hurdle field in decisive fashion and I suppose the only thing against him in this contest is a lack of racing experience. He is potentially the best of these and even if he wasn’t to collect today, he could still be the one to take forward into the season. At a price of 11/2 with Bet365, he should be backed each way also.