Smooth win for Quinmaster

Michael Halford believed his luck was out going into Ireland's most valuable flat handicap but Quinmaster brought it flooding back in with an ultra-smooth victory in last evening's Tote Galway Mile.

Under a masterful John Murtagh ride Quinmaster made most of the running at a tempo carefully guaranteed by his jockey to have the rest of the big field stacked up behind him.

Considering they were led by the heavily-backed favourite Absolute Image, Quinmaster's trainer Michael Halford feared the worst having had to settle for the runner-up spot in the first two races.

But Halford needn't have worried because Murtagh judged it to perfection and Quinmaster bounded up the hill for an emphatic two and a half length success.

"We bought him from France (where the horse was trained by Carlos Lemaire) to go hurdling but he was so keen that he was hard on himself. Then we ran him in the Lincoln in March and he didn't run well so we decided to castrate him and plan for tonight," said Halford whose previous best in the 150,000 highlight formerly known as the McDonogh was when Desert Trail was runner-up to Vinthea in 2002.

"It looked like being one of those nights but I suppose any time you're in the frame here, you can't have too many complaints," he added.

Murtagh's previous win in "the McDonogh" was 16 years previously on Salmon Eile but Quinmaster's victory harked even further back for owner Bill Durkan who trained the 1983 GPT winner Double Wrapped and Tara Lee who landed the 1984 Galway Hurdle.

The Dermot Weld team suffered a reverse in the opening maiden hurdle where the favourite Dasher Reilly didn't jump well and managed only seventh behind the 14 to 1 winner Arc Lemanique.

"We had to keep the pressure on all the way because it was the only way we were going to win. He just stays and stays," said the winner's trainer Pat Fahy.

But there was no mistake by Weld in the juvenile fillies maiden where the prohibitively priced 2 to 7 favourite Supposition sauntered up by seven lengths in the famous Prince Khaled Abdullah colours.

"It's nice to see these famous colours win west of the Shannon," Weld said of the filly who earned a 33 to 1 quote from one firm for next year's 1,000 Guineas. "She's a sweet filly of some potential and she'll run at Stakes level next."

Weld's newcomer in the concluding seven-furlong maiden was well backed to make a winning debut but the 20 to 1 outsider Yellow Ridge spoiled the punters' party with a three parts of a length victory for the trainer-businessman, Luke Comer.

There was more than a political tinge to Sorry Al's defeat of Pharviva in the chase as the Charlie Swan-trained winner is owned by a syndicate that includes the former Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds.

"The plan always was to come here but we didn't think a horse rated as high as Commonchero (third) would be in the race too. He likes it here," said Swan.

Willie Mullins ran two in the two-mile handicap and it was the outsider of the pair, the topweight Diego Garcia, who emerged best, powering clear of Grand Revival with the favourite Truly Gold only third.

"It's taken a long time for him to come back to form but he seems to be improving now," said Mullins.

"We'll mix the flat and hurdling and then go novice chasing this winter," he added.

It was a record second day at the festival with bookmaker turnover up over €600,000 on last year and breaking the €3 million mark for the first time at €3,186,466. It was also a record Tuesday crowd at 27,685, up almost 3,000, and the Tote was also a record at €1,198,996.