Horse Racing News: Galway Festival Recap
(Galway, [Publication Date]) – The curtain has fallen on another thrilling week of action at the Galway Festival, and the racing enthusiasts were treated to a spectacular display of talent and drama.
Feature Race of the Final Day
In the feature race of the final day, the €100,000 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Ahonoora Handicap, it was Classic-winning jockey Micky Fenton who stole the show as a trainer. Fenton, who famously won the 1000 Guineas on Pam Sly’s Speciosa in 2006, saddled the four-year-old Physique to victory at 9/1 odds. Jockey Seamie Heffernan utilized his usual front-running tactics, which had narrowly failed in Physique’s last two outings, but this time the strategy paid off, as the horse held on to win by half a length from Hurricane Ivor.
“We were moaning that we didn’t win the last day, but it’s worked even better today,” said a delighted Fenton. “There is one way to ride him and he likes to get on with things.”
Other Highlights
Elsewhere on the card, Willie Mullins reinforced his status as the leading trainer of the festival, as Saint Roi returned to winning ways in the Lord Hemphill Memorial Handicap Chase. The nine-year-old, a Grade One winner over fences as a novice and also successful in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham in 2020, was ridden aggressively by Aidan Kelly and battled back to win by a length and a quarter at 13/2.
Gordon Elliott’s Hurricane Georgie, who had been unplaced in the Galway Plate earlier in the week, made amends in the Kinlay Hostel Chase, with jockey Jack Kennedy securing the leading rider award for the festival.
“She’s a great little mare, she’s very tough,” said Kennedy. “I don’t usually have a good Galway, so it’s nice to get that this year.”
The Galway Festival has once again delivered a thrilling week of racing, showcasing the depth of talent within the Irish national hunt scene. As the curtain falls, the focus now shifts to the upcoming autumn calendar, with racing enthusiasts eagerly anticipating the next chapter in the ongoing equine drama.
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