Connections of hat-trick-seeking Petrol Head set for anxious wait to see if he can creep into the Galway Hurdle

The hat-trick-seeking Petrol Head will contest a big pot at the Galway festival, but it will be an anxious wait for the Katy Brown stable before they discover whether their eight-year-old will creep into the Guinness Galway Hurdle or if he will have to wait 24 hours for the consolation race. 

Petrol Head returned from nearly two years off at Downpatrick last month and bolted up on his debut for Brown by eight and a half lengths in a 2m2f handicap hurdle. He returned 21 days later in a competitive €50,000 race at Bellewstown and was the subject of heavy market support throughout the day, eventually going off 7-4 favourite having been 15-2 in the morning.

The money proved well placed as he travelled powerfully and stayed on strongly to defeat Aeros Luck by a length and a quarter.

He was raised 9lb for that success, bringing him to a mark of 126. The lowest-rated horse in last year’s Galway Hurdle raced off a mark of 135, but Brown is hoping Petrol Head will sneak in and has an alternative plan in place if he misses the cut.

"Petrol Head is in great form since Bellewstown," said Brown. "He's come out of two races really well and is improving nicely. 

"The Galway Hurdle weights are out on Monday and we're praying we get in, but it's going to be very tight. If he doesn't get in there's an €80,000 consolation race [the Guinness Galway Tribes Handicap Hurdle] on the Friday of the festival. The plan is to go to Galway anyway.

"Off a mark of 126 it's going to be a struggle, and I wish he'd won a bit more impressively at Bellewstown, but he won as well as he could and the main thing is he came out of the race in one piece."

Petrol Head's previous trainer and owner, Ronan McNally, was disqualified from racing for 12 years in January 2023 after the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board's referrals committee found him guilty of multiple integrity breaches. 

Brown, who is in excellent form having saddled two winners and a second from her last four runners, credits her staff with getting Petrol Head back on track after a prolonged absence. She added: "The people I have at home are fantastic and they've done a great job to get him back right and on the track. I just wish I had a few more horses for them because they're brilliant. 

"He was impressive at Bellewstown and hopefully he's not done winning just yet. He's a lovely horse and he's well capable of putting up a good show in a Galway Hurdle if he did get in. Galway is a funny track and it doesn't suit some horses, but I can't see why it wouldn't suit him."

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