Galway Hurdle Tips: Top Weight To Land The Prize
The Galway Festival can feel like being in a racing washing machine with a medley of jumping and flat action coming thick and fast at punters as the days roll by. One of the highlights however of the whole week comes our way on Thursday and is of course the Galway Hurdle. A maximum field of 20 could take part and while the weather and ground will undoubtedly mean a non-runner or two, the race should still be competitive and a fine spectacle. Billy Grimshaw is on hand to give us his idea of the winner and our man is going back to an old favourite of his...
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Making his handicap debut, Zarak The Brave for Willie Mullins is strong in the market and clear favourite at the time of writing for the 2023 Galway Hurdle. At first glance I was sceptical of his claims, noting that he had been well stuffed whenever meeting the elite juveniles over the winter and imagining he would find the hustle and bustle of a Galway Hurdle a lot to deal with while still only four. However, it is important to factor in when assessing races that we punters know a lot less than those connected with the horse and as such paying attention to market vibes is crucial. The team at Closutton clearly thinking the assessor has underestimated him here off 145 in his handicap bow, so I will not be taking him on lightly.
Filey Bay is another I was very cautious about ruling out. He is owned by JP, trained by Emmett Mullins and if that wasn't enough ticks in the box will be running here off just 11 stone 5, the same weight Zarak The Brave is tasked with carrying to glory. Filey Bay has a lot of high class form in his locker and with the tongue tie now reapplied, which has been something that has worked in the past, he will have plenty of supporters. Brazil will take his chance in the same iconic silks and with cheekpieces applied for the first time, this 2022 Cheltenham winner will be expected to bounce back to his best by Padraig Roche and the team. He clearly enjoys a big field handicap and is the mount of retained rider for the owner Mark Walsh.
That is just the top three in the market taken care of and as you have probably guessed, I am struggling to pick too many holes in any of them. My Mate Mozzie finished down the field in last season's renewal of this race but is a far better horse this year and has a five pound claimer on board for Gavin Cromwell so can expect to improve on 2022's effort, while Jesse Evans has been in the frame in both of the last two renewals so Noel Meade will be itching for his mare to go a few places better this time out. Gordon Elliott predictably has a strong team and his shortest price runners at the moment are Party Central and Glan. I think the bookmakers have got this one wrong, however, and it amazes me to see my idea of the winner available at 16/1 at the time of writing.
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If you were one of the millions (ahem) who read my horses to follow piece prior to the 2022/23 Jumps season kicking off, you will know all about how fond I have been for some time of FILS D'OUDAIRIES. He has lived a nomadic existence sine heading over from France as a four year old when it comes to where he is trained, starting off with Joseph O'Brien before heading to England and Nicky Henderson's yard for a season before crossing the Irish Sea once again to join Gordon Elliott. At Joseph O'Brien's he was earmarked as a chaser and exemplified his talent by winning a few races and chasing home some smart horses like Envoi Allen. His jumping, however, was his achilles heel. After losing his way at the back end of the season his owners switched him to Seven Barrows and it was decided to shelve plans to retry fences and stick to the smaller obstacles. A wise move all things considered as he ran some fine races including the one that put him on my radar, his second to Langer Dan at Aintree when the pair pulled miles clear.
We know Langer Dan was unbelievably well handicapped that day and on his best performance is a graded performer. I'm convinced we can say the same of Fils D'oudairies. It took Gordon some time to get to grips with his new arrival at the start of the 22/23 season but after another failed attempt at chasing Elliott seems to have found the.key to his inmate. He has been beaten this season by one who opposes here in Bialystok at Punchestown but didn't look quite himself that day. That was over 100 days ago now and since then he has for some reason been tried over fences again (shock horror... he fell) and then come right back to his best form in winning two decent races. He beat Cash Back (who re-opposes here and is a massive price if back on song) by just under a length receiving bundles of weight at Ballinrobe, so that performance was nothing spectacular alone. However, the two clashed again next time out in the Grimes Hurdle at Tipperary and this was where Fils D'oudairies gavehis best performance in years.
The high class Sharjah was no match for him and could only finish second and although the 18/1 SP shows he was a shock winner, the talent has always been there. Hopefully the horse is on a roll now and Gordon has discovered what really makes the horse tick. Winning this race carrying 11 stone 12 won't be easy, but he really was imperious at Tipperary and if he can reproduce an effort of that calibre he won't be out of the frame. Take the 16/1 with bet365 or William Hill while the price is still there!
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