Ghimaar a class apart as the Weld beano pays again

GALWAY DAY ONE REPORT:THOSE ADOPTING the "if it ain't broke – don't fix it" policy towards Dermot Weld and the Galway festival enjoyed yet another beano at Ballybrit last evening with Ghimaar leading an opening day double for the legendary trainer, writes BRIAN O'CONNOR,Racing Correspondent, at Ballybrit

Despite carrying topweight of 12st, Ghimaar made the most of an unusually slow early pace to quicken clear up the hill under jockey Robbie McNamara and win the featured Carlton Galway City Handicap.

Formerly known as the GPT, the €75,000 amateur riders’ event has, under its various guises, been as vulnerable to Weld runners as any other event at a festival which has yielded the trainer over 200 winners since his first back in 1972.

In fact, the two-mile race possibly means more than most since it was on Ticonderoga in 1964 that a then 15-year-old Weld won the contest as a jockey. He then trained and rode Spanner to a hat-trick of victories (1972-73-75) and Ghimaar was completing a different sort of hat-trick as he followed in the footsteps of Loyal Focus (2007) and Majestic Concorde (2008.)

“Tactics usually win this race and Robbie had him beautifully positioned all the way,” Weld said. “He controlled the race. He actually got to the front sooner than we planned, but all the tactical discussions we’ve had meant that when the opportunity came off that pace, all he had to do was push the button.”

Ghimaar was also a winner at Galway last year, but there will be no return to Ballybrit this week with Weld nominating Newmarket’s Cesarewitch in October as a possible target for the Sheikh Hamdan-owned horse.

Last night’s beaten 5 to 1 favourite Truckers Delight had been disputing favouritism for Thursday’s Guinness Hurdle, but after racing prominently he couldn’t quicken up in the closing stages and faded to 11th.

Ghimaar started a 10 to 1 shot, but there were very different odds about Stunning View, who justified a 4 to 9 SP to give Weld a 19th success in the two-year-old maiden.

Horses of the calibre of the subsequent 2004 Irish Derby winner Grey Swallow are among the previous 18, and Weld clearly has a high opinion of Stunning View who is a half-brother to the 1997 Irish Derby hero Desert King.

“He did what we thought he would do. He is a damn nice colt with a lovely attitude and will make a lovely miler next year. He is in the Goffs Millions and also the National Stakes,” he said.

Stunning View, a €160,000 purchase, earned 25 to 1 quotes for next year’s 2,000 Guineas after yesterday’s win.

Weld has hit the 10-winner mark for the festival a number of times, but he believes the weather will hold the key to his prospects this time.“If the forecast is right for rain we won’t have that many this week.”

The Weld team failed to land the opening novice hurdle with Gratified, who found Moonlight Sapphire too good despite winning Kilkenny trainer John O’Shea being less than happy with the move to Easyfix hurdles at the festival.

“I think it is a disastrous decision by Horse Racing Ireland and the Galway executive to use them for the festival,” O’Shea said. “They are definitely a disadvantage for a horse if they are not used to them.”

Favourite backers got on the mark for the first time this week when No One Tells Me proved two lengths too good for Right Or Wrong in the two-mile handicap hurdle.

“She is improving all the time. I forgot to declare cheek-pieces for her but she has been such a star lately it didn’t matter,” said winning trainer Jessica Harrington, who later completed a double of her own with Mosstown’s victory in the mile-and-a- half handicap.

Do The Bookies attempted to make all in the bumper but couldn’t hold the late challenge of Honours Graduate, who scored for local trainer Paul Gilligan.

Good racing but all numbers down

THE OPENING day attendance at the 2009 Galway festival saw a slump of almost 17 per cent from last year with a tally of 17,243 down from 2008's total of 20,721, writes Brian O'Connor.

Not surprisingly, betting turnover was also down with a Tote figure of €785,633 compared to last year's €945,312.

There was a €613,027 drop in bookmaker turnover with €1,749,259 comparing to €2,362,286 last year.