Majestic Weld can start off with Concorde

GALWAY PREVIEW:ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY means the Galway festival will be regarded as a barometer for many things this week, but Majestic Concorde can prove in the Day One feature that Dermot Weld is always a sure thing around Ballybrit.

The legendary trainer has been champion trainer here 23 times, and his dominance is such that Paddy Power are offering 6 to 1 about him not ending the week on top again.

Not surprisingly, on the back of Weld's annual dominance, Pat Smullen is as short as 8 to 11 to be the leading flat jockey this week, while bookmakers believe the other dominant rider will be Ruby Walsh over the jumps, who is an even shorter favourite at 2 to 5.

Such markets make up only a fraction of the estimated €30 million that will be bet on track over the seven days, but the first major instalment of the €2 million in prizemoney this week is tonight's €100,000 GPT Galway Handicap, a race that ignited Weld's Galway passion when he rode Ticonderoga to win in 1964 as a 15-year-old.

Loyal Focus renewed the link last year, and Majestic Concorde could take the first leg of a momentous double, as he is already an 8 to 1 favourite for Thursday's Guinness Galway Hurdle.

The five-year-old came close to landing an important flat handicap two years ago when only just edged out of the Irish Cesarewitch off a similar mark, and a good win at Killarney earlier this month suggests a winter over hurdles may have produced more improvement in him.

P'tit Fute won the GPT two years ago by a dozen lengths, and he's back now for another crack at the two-mile event on the back of a success over hurdles at Killarney. He could be a big danger, as will be the English raider Halla San, who renews hostilities with Arc Bleu from the Pitmans Derby at Newcastle a few weeks ago.

But Majestic Concorde can end up being the centrepiece of yet another vintage Galway evening for Weld.

He famously has won the juvenile maiden on 17 occasions, although in the last six years there have been "just" two Rosewell House-based winners.

This time, however, he looks to have a prime contender in Broad Meaning, whose Leopardstown debut came over a mile when runner-up to Mouraiyan.

This seven furlongs will be no trouble, and Weld should know exactly where he stands with the Ballydoyle runner Drumbeat, who was runner-up to Luminous Eyes at Roscommon.

Gunavira is an eye-catcher in the seven-furlong handicap, having run over a mile-and-a-quarter at Naas on his last start. He's now handicapped on a mark of 68, which could look generous by the end of tonight's action.

Walsh will have an even greater pick of the best rides this week with Paul Carberry and Davy Russell on the sidelines. He's on Pillar Of Hercules in the opener, who's 113 rating is hard to argue with. However, Dancera beat the course specialist Cnoc Run at Ballinrobe last week and a 7lb claim means he gets quite a good weight concession.

The Galway-born trainer Pat Fahy has a fine record around here and comes to the handicap hurdle in form, while Rudigreen could be worth a shout in the bumper.