Irish racing expert Tony Keenan is bringing us the best bets for Galway all week – check out his Tuesday preview and recommendations.
Day two at Galway lacks a little overall quality though there is one towering exception: a very competitive running of the feature, the Colm Quinn BMW Mile at 7:10.
Booyea is the horse coming into the race on the up and deserves his position at the head of the betting but the track is a concern with him; he disappointed at the meeting last year though it may have been the mile and a half trip or the testing ground that day that caused his underperformance.
The going drying out a little should help him – outside of maidens, his record on yielding or faster is:121011 – though at the current prices my preference is for Lady Lunette and PLUME NOIRE.
Lady Lunette has proved something of a trouble magnet since winning at the Curragh last August, but those persistent traffic problems caused her mark to drop, and she took advantage of that to win the Nasrullah readily last time even while again having a troubled passage.
Despite the slow pace then the form worked out at Gowran last Saturday and she can go well again though she will need luck in running.
Plume Noire is a six-year-old but is unexposed for her age and having looked a seven furlong type for much of her career, is settling better this year and might now prefer the mile, her sire Harzand an influence for stamina.
There is little doubt that she has improved this season, impressing with how she won a strongly-run mile handicap at Naas on her return back in May, travelling powerfully throughout to win going away, the form proving solid afterwards, the third unlucky not to win a valuable race on the Oaks undercard, the fourth winning next time.
She reverted to seven furlongs at the Curragh over Derby weekend next time for a valuable fillies only handicap but looked to find the trip too sharp, short for room twice in the final two furlongs before running on well to finish second beaten a head, shaping best on the day.
Both her runs this season have come on good ground but there could be more to come on a slower surface and while there is a drying forecast today, the Galway executive doesn’t want the ground becoming too fast, and her strong travelling style should suit the track.
The rest of the card is difficult and largely unappealing. Gaucher looks on the short side in the opening Colm Quinn BMW Novice Hurdle at 4:50 and there may be something in the field to beat him while bits of cases can be made for Lucky Out and Future Cutlet in the Caulfield Industrial Irish EBF Maiden at 6:40.
That is a weak contest of its type though Yaxchilan is the one that could take a big step forward for Dermot Weld.
The penultimate flat handicap, the Caulfieldindustrial.com Handicap at 7:45, has a favourite in Alpha Capture that could be very well-in, his fall in the weights from 103 to a mark in the 70s having happened quickly and he seems to have gotten off light with just a three pounds hike for Killarney.
He is well found in the market, however, and there are others in the race like Sea Chariot and Royal Pippen who at least seem to have races in them off their ratings.
Preview posted at 0830 BST on 30/07/24
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