Daniel King steals the show in an intoxicating three-day Galway experience

Arriving at a drizzly Galway on Monday afternoon, there was a very fleeting thought a first Irish racing adventure could have been a mistake.

Far from it. This was an intoxicating racing experience in an incredibly friendly city.

The flexi-ticket of any three days of the seven-day Galway Festival was an offer worth snapping up for anyone.

It made sense to attend Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday as the three big feature races of the week were staged then. The Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap on Tuesday, followed by the Galway Plate on Wednesday and Galway Hurdle on Thursday.

This is the most attended of Ireland’s racing festivals. Nobody pretends it’s the best quality in the world but it matters a great deal to the local trainers, owners and jockeys. Syndicates aplenty enjoy their days out and even the top trainers unleash the odd very good horse here across both codes. Prize money for the whole week exceeds two million Euros.

Another part of the initial appeal is mixed racecards. There’s nothing bar Haydock’s Swinton Hurdle Day where both Flat and jumps races are staged on the same day in Britain. Here we had seven of them.

With the weather grey and damp, venturing over to the port felt like it could wait until the Tuesday morning. A gentle evening on the outskirts of the city-centre pubs watching the Monday night card was on the agenda.

Willie Mullins unleashed the impressive Witches Familiar, who won the maiden hurdle by eight-and-a-half lengths. Mullins spoke glowingly of the filly in the famous pink and green colours of Susannah and Rich Ricci. While the locals noted the good performance, the 9/1 quotes for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle next March for Cheltenham held little appeal.

The Royal Bond will reveal much more. This was a case of watching and learning. Friendly locals clocking the Ayrshire accent and recommending various things ranging from travel advice, places to visit in the city centre and racing pointers such as the same horse racing twice in the week, plots, trainers and jockeys to follow.

But there was only one thing that truly dominated amid all the pub talk. Mayo ending 75 years of hurt by winning the All-Ireland Senior Football title. Despite understanding the significance of it all, knowledge of Gaelic Football has only gone up from seriously limited to limited.

There is an extraordinary sense of sporting pride in Irish counties. Flags are abound in hotels, cars, pubs, clubs, colleges, racecourses, car showrooms, houses and businesses alike.

With a brighter morning on the Tuesday, a quick visit to the port and bay was more than worthwhile. An afternoon of pleasant exploring in the city centre chatting with people from various different countries was cut short to head to the track early for the racing.

With evening cards on the Tuesday and Wednesday, there was every reason to head off early for gates opening a full two hours beforehand to miss the traffic.

With Group One action in Goodwood on beforehand, that certainly wasn’t a bad thing. Watching Scandinavia and Bow Echo strut their stuff in the feature races on Tuesday and Wednesday was the perfect appetiser for the days ahead.

Tuesday was the quietest day in terms of crowds but provided a good opportunity to fully explore the racecourse.

From left to right there was a racing area, parade ring, the main betting ring, the Wilson Lynch Pavillion, Food Court Area, the three-tier main Millennium Stand, the Amenity Pavillion, the Main Stage Area, the four-tier Killanin Stand, the Mayors Pavillion, the Festival Village and the smaller betting ring.

Exploring all that gets the steps in for sure. A chat with an American from Boston awaiting the horses of the first at the parade ring inevitably led to World Cup chat. Fans? Amazing. Football? Not so good. That was the general verdict. The racing appeal? Seeing different kinds of racecourses. A lot in Stateside are flat, sandy bowls.

Galway isn’t. There is a whiff of Perth about it. Right-handed but it’s tighter, more undulations and the uphill finish means races can change complexion markedly close home. Yes, the bend can be a slingshot and front-runners can nick a length or a length and a half but they can be caught in the final 50-75 yards. It’s a place that offers many thrilling finishes.

It was surprising to see reports that action in the betting ring was primarily down. It appeared busy and intimidating enough for this first-timer but one suspects that it’s a reflection of the times.

People betting with thousands now bet in hundreds. Hundreds now bet with fifties. Fifties bettors now stick 20 or 30 on. Twenty or 30 punters now bet with tenners and the real big hitters seem to have either scaled down or largely called it a day.

That’s simply a sign of tougher times. While the results for the week were bad, the real big money generally wasn’t there. Winning the lucky last on Wednesday night as Cock And Bull held to win by a rapidly diminishing neck at 6/1 was an important confidence booster and presented a platform to recover going into the final day.

Aware of the normal difficulty of finding winners at Festivals, places kept things ticking over and the last on Wednesday was a rare moment of taking a concrete opinion on a race in skipping the each-way angle.

Thursday’s card was the one that had a make up to play like Ben Stokes instead of Geoffrey Boycott. It took a day and a half to feel comfortable and get to grips with things. Four winners, two seconds and a third on Galway Hurdle day was the perfect fillip to a great week. It also secured profit.

It was also the busiest day of the week, with a flock of youngsters attending in the afternoon and a crowd of 24,128 confirmed that impression. There is a great social environment but there is also a deep and impassioned understanding of the sport.

Watching young Daniel King become the first jockey to complete the Galway Plate and Hurdle double in the same festival for the first time since 1984 was a delight to witness.

His front-running ride on King Alexander to win the Plate at 20/1 was very well judged. The one on Putapoundinthejar to prevail in the Hurdle at 10/1 was patience personified. Travelling down the inner in midfield, King took every gap at the right moment to win by three-and-a-quarter lengths.

It was a fifth win in the race for trainer Tony Martin, who has compared the talents of King to Ruby Walsh. The 21-year-old from County Cork is one to note and was the star of the show.

Trainer Joseph O’Brien continues to improve at a rate of knots across both codes, his No1 jockey Dylan Browne-McMonagle showcased his talents both sides of the water all week and seeing the passion from winning owners pour out for horses like Shadow Paddy was genuinely heartwarming to witness first-hand.

Friday was supposed to be even busier than the Thursday but by then it was the two-and-a-half-hour bus ride back in the morning to Dublin Airport. A week without a bad encounter of any kind and a profitable first Irish racing adventure.

Not bad for a first time. It certainly won’t be the last.