GO LIKE A DREAM...
DREAM Walker will relish the heavy ground in Galway and must be fancied to land the Donnellys Of Barna Rates Race for Jarlath Fahey and Chris Hayes tonight.
The nine-year-old was a regular visitor to Ballybrit during his years with Brian Ellison, running well in the big mile handicap a few times and, more significantly, winning the Ahonoora Handicap, a seven-furlong premier handicap, in both 2016 and 2017.
This year, for Fahey, he finished fifth to River Light in the Colm Quinn BMW mile and ninth behind Safe Voyage in the Ahonoora.
Last time he was beaten little more than six lengths when tenth to Kenya in the
Irish Cambridgeshire
The veteran is at his best in deep ground and, although his two big wins at
Ballybrit have been over seven furlongs, he has triumphed three times over a mile and, in the expected conditions, Chris Hayes will be unhurried on the gelding.
The listed Ardilaun House Oyster Stakes poses a tough puzzle for punters. And, although three year olds have struggled in it a bit in recent years, Dynabee and Princess Yaiza might fight out the finish.
Preference is for Joseph O’brien’s lightly-raced filly Dynabee, dropping in class, having finished eighth behind I’m So Fancy in the Group 3 Sow Fairy Stakes at the Curragh last time. Previously third to Snowy Winter at Gowran Park, she’s unproven in soft ground. But the step-up in trip should suit Donnacha O’brien’s mount.
And she gets the nod over Princess Yaiza, runner-up Nessun Dorma in the Guinness Handicap, having previously run well against some of the top staying three-year-old fillies around.
Geraghty (inset) was seen at his strongest when producing Awayinthewest, trained by Pat Fahy, with a strong late surge to deny Pleasure Dome in the Deacy Gilligan Mares Hurdle in Galway yesterday.
Fahy nominated a listed mare event at Down Royal in November as the winner’s immediate target and plans sunning her in the Grade 2 mares novice hurdle at Cheltenham. Best performances of the evening came from the Emmet Mullins-trained Zero Ten (David Mullins), which followed-up his bumper success here in the summer with a facile win in the opening maiden hurdle, and Winter Escape, a convincing winner of the beginners chase under Mark Walsh, giving trainer Aidan Howard his first winner for J P Mcmanus.
Fozzy Stack has confirmed his intention to run Son Of Rest in Saturday’s William Hill Ayr Gold Cup.
The four-year-old is set to carry 92, with a rating of 101, and will be 10lb. “well-in” following his second to Havana Grey in Sunday’s Flying Five (Group 1) at the Curragh, after which he received a hefty ‘hike’ from the handicapper.