Betting and crowd figures up at Galway Summer Festival
IT was a remarkable Galway summer festival in more ways than one, not least that the seven-day meeting miraculously escaped some poor weather forecasts, a scenario which led to increased crowd figures and betting turnover at Ballybrit.
John Moloney’s last meeting in charge as Galway General Manager also coincided with Dermot Weld desperately clinging onto the Trainers’ Championship for the 29th time in 30 years; Fran Berry bridging a ten-year gap by winning the Flat jockeys’ title, and UK challenger Baraweez landing the closing day highlight for the second year running.
Unfortunately, there was no locally trained winner at the 2015 festival with Iggy Madden (Cairduil), Steve Mahon (Afatcat) and Paul Gilligan (Harangue, since successful at Roscommon on Tuesday evening) all having to be content with runner up positions, but it was a meeting to savour for Tuam jockey Leigh Roche.
Having been successful on 16/1 chance Romiac in the Clayton Hotel Handicap on the opening evening of the festival, the heavily supported Bog War in the Guinness Anniversary Handicap last Thursday, Roche brought his festival haul to three with an armchair ride on the Ger Lyons trained Waipu Cove in the Irish Stallion Farms Nursery on the penultimate day of the meeting.
After a couple of early festival disappointments, the Tony Martin yard finished the meeting in a blaze of glory. After Quick Jack eased home – his task simplified by the last flight fall of stablemate and last year’s winner, Thomas Edison – to a popular success in the Galway Guinness Hurdle, the Co. Meath handler went on to saddle a treble the following evening.
Viva Le France set the ball rolling for the Martin stable in the opening Guinness Handicap Hurdle; Tudor City, one of the gambles of the week, came up trumps in the Arthur Guinness Handicap; while Dark Crusader completed the treble in the concluding Guinness Race.
Martin brought his Galway pickings to six by saddling a double on the closing day of the festival. Dollar And A Dream set the ball rolling in the opening Martinstown Opportunity Handicap Hurdle before Wahtsforuwontgoby also justified favouritism in the JPK Fencing Handicap.
Full Galway Festival review in this week's Connacht Tribune.