A jockey's valet at work at Galway© Photo Healy Racing
Galway and Cheltenham are my two favourite racing weeks of the year, but in so many ways they are polar opposites.
Besides the obvious gulf in class of the equine talent on display, the crowds that turn up to both festivals are also very different. Cheltenham ostensibly attracts two types of racegoer, the die-hard National Hunt fan on their annual pilgrimage that could recite the last ten winners of the Supreme without pausing for breath, and the corporate set that spend much of their day hidden away in hospitality guzzling champagne.
Galway attracts its fair share of both types too, but there is also a healthy sprinkling of holidaymakers, families and casual racegoers that help create a unique mix.
Galway is less about the racing and more about the fun. The buzz around the city this week is infectious. Everyone is talking about horses, everyone looking for a tip, but not in the same way they are at Cheltenham. There are no existential debates on the relative merits of three days as opposed to four, no futile comparisons between champions from different eras. People just want to back a winner and most couldn’t care less about the price.
From a punting point of view there is a certain freedom about betting at Galway. There is less emphasis on recent form, it’s more about gut feel and intuition. There are no bad bets at Galway, just unlucky ones. Sometimes the best approach is to just go with the flow. Your head tells you it’s a 7/1 the field handicap, but one horse gets smashed into 7/4 and you row in regardless. You need to be on because everyone else is on and if it wins you know the craic will be mighty.
Betting on Galway races can be counterintuitive, a recent duck egg in a horse’s form is often of greater significance than a win. Horses arriving to Galway with a string of ones to their name are best avoided as they have already shown their hand. It’s the ones coming in under the radar you need to focus on.
Sticking to the low draws in flat handicaps is a tried and tested strategy, as is backing previous course winners.
If you are betting on Galway it’s important to remember it’s 53 races over 7 days, so pace yourself, pick your punches and never bet beyond your means. And of course have fun!
The weather has been terrible in recent weeks and Galway is set to begin with Heavy in the going description for the flat horses on Monday. With more bands of rain set to hit the west coast throughout the week it’s going to take a monumental effort from the ground staff to keep the show on the road for seven days.
The rain and mud will also make the jobs of everyone involved in Galway race week that much harder. Car park attendants, stable staff, jockeys, stewards, bookies, Tote staff, cleaners, security staff, camera operators, photographers, reporters and the ground staff all have a busy enough week ahead of them without the added complications of rain, but above all my heart goes out to the valets. The jockeys’ valets will be flat out during a week like Galway where there are so many horses running and so many different jockeys riding (flat, jumps and amateurs all in the one day). When everyone else has left the track for dinner and drinks after racing they have many hours of work still ahead as they wash and clean all the gear and tack to have the boots, saddles, breeches and silks pristine for the following day’s action.
Finally, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday was a thrilling race despite 126 lengths separating the field at the end. It looked like a vintage renewal on paper and certainly delivered with a cracking finish between two brilliant older horses.
Nothing has come to light yet to explain the poor showing from dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin, but obviously something must have been amiss. Hopefully we will get to see him race again before he inevitably heads off to stud.
If he were a jumps horse his trainer would be talking about coming back for another go next year, but sadly these shooting stars of the flat game are often gone in the blink of an eye.
