Respect these prolific silks and any horse making a quick reappearance - five pointers for the Galway festival

Conor Fennelly picks out five key pointers for the seven-day Galway marathon starting on Monday . . .

Prolific silks

Horses owned by Galway natives, Pearse and Annette Mee, always demand close inspection at Galway. 

Teed Up, This Songisforyou, Enfranchise, Hallowed Star and Merlin Giant will be back to bid for more success, while Malbay Madness, Arctic Gale, Mt Leinster and Sea Music are poised to return having shown their aptitude for the track. 

Will Pearse and Annette Mee's silks again be prevalent in the Galway winner's enclosure?Credit: Patrick McCann

When horses don the green and purple silks, they tend to skate around the unique hooks of Ballybrit and this week is their Olympics.

Quick reappearances

At Galway, there is a race for every type of horse, irrespective of ability and discipline. As a result, you routinely see horses popping up two, maybe three times during the week.

Busted Tycoon probably grew tired of being wheeled in and out of the winner's enclosure in 2013 when she packed three victories into the week for Tony Martin, while One Cool Poet maximised his excursion out west when he brought up a treble six years later for Matthew Smith. Last year, Teed Up came within a head of pulling off the remarkable feat.

Don't be alarmed if your fancy is reappearing quickly. 

The bizarre course

The inexorable final climb will lead you to think you need a horse who stays further than the race distance, but if they can't handle the early pace and navigate the bends like an articulated lorry, then you may as well forget about it. 

Tactical pace is a necessity. A low draw helps a lot in 7f and mile handicaps, while the final two fences come at horses quickly, just after they freewheel down a hill.

Galway provides a stern examinationCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

A zesty traveller is well equipped to deal with these demands, but there's always a risk they will be chinned by a rival late on when meeting the rising ground. It's a rollercoaster.

Weld an assassin at Ballybrit

Dermot Weld blazed trails for many years with his international winners, and success at Ballybrit is the stuff of legend.

Dermot Weld: respect his Galway festival runnersCredit: Edward Whitaker

He saddled his 500th winner at the track with Keep In Touch in 2022 and came away with three winners last season, including Coeur D'Or who took the feature Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap on Tuesday. 

Pace your punting

As mentioned, there is a type of race for every horse, trainer and jockey at Galway throughout the week, and the same applies to punters. 

It's a gruelling seven-day marathon and if you don't exercise appropriate discipline and specialise, then you could be a spent force by Galway Plate day.

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4.50 Galway: Sysko out to emulate smart Mystical Power by taking curtain-raising novice hurdle at Galway for Willie Mullins   

7.10 Galway: course specialist Teed Up the one to beat in typically competitive Connacht Hotel Handicap   

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