Thursday's Galway Hurdle represents one of the highlights of a week of top notch racing and the odds for the handicap race suggest it is a wide open affair. A maximum field of twenty are set to take their place for the two mile race and it is The Real Article who is favourite at industry best priced odds of 4/1 with Paddy Power, while the likes of Captain Cee Bee, Dirar and Hidden Universe cannot be discounted.
Edward O'Grady ante-post favourite is a three time winner, although the 6-year-old gelding only just made the cut for this race after dodging a review following an incident at Tipperary last time out. He lost out by a short head to Captain Cee Bee under a hands and heels ride from his jockey and we fancy Captain Cee Bee could well be the one to beat again this week, with doubts surrounding The Real Article's taste for big field handicaps.
Next best in the odds with Paddy Power though is Gordon Elliot's Dirar at 7/1. The 2010 Ebor winner has now won four from seven in handicap hurdles and will look to improve on a third place behind Overturn from this race last year, although he starts 7lbs heavier this time around.
The entry that catches the eye is Edward Harty's Captain Cee Bee at 8/1 and the 10-year-old gelding looks to have enough class to overcome top weight allocation. Bahrain Storm was due to carry top weight but took his place in the Galway Plate, where he unseated his rider early on. So it is Captain Cee Bee who carries 11st 2lbs and he should be all the better for his narrow Group Three win over The Real Article last time out.
Harty opted to swerve the Plate and it could be a move that pays dividends and despite his age, the 2008 Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner is relatively lightly raced and we fancy he could have at least one big race win left in him.
Captain Cee Bee will have to contend with the 'King of Galway', Dermot Weld's entry, Hidden Universe (10/1), who was second in the Group One Champion Novices Hurdle at Punchestown. The 5-year-old demands respect and as one of the best novice hurdlers around last year, he should be right in the mix at Galway this week.
There is then a clutch of entries at odds of 14/1 with PaddyPower.com, with Foster's Cross boasting recent course form after winning a flat handicap over two miles on Monday evening. Thomas Mullins' 9-year-old has proven to be a strong traveller over the years, although he did fall on his last Galway Hurdle appearance two years ago.
Noel Meade's Silverhand is also at 14/1 and despite being far from straightforward, he picked up three from three last year and is a two time winner on the Galway track. David Pipe's Silverhand is the sole British representative in the race and the progressive gelding was a winner over two miles at Punchestown on his reappearance and was third in a hot handicap at Market Rasen last time out.
He could be well worth an each-way look against his Irish rivals this week, as could Gordon Elliot's highly rated Plan A. The 4-year-old gelding is available at 16/1 after finishing fourth in the Fred Winter at Cheltenham last year. He has since won a Perth handicap on his reappearance in April, although he will have to reverse recent trends as there has been only one 4-year-old winner of the Galway Hurdle since 1990.
4/1 The Real Article
7/1 Dirar
8/1 Captain Cee Bee
10/1 Hidden Universe
14/1 Foster's Cross
14/1 Gimlis Rock
14/1 Street Entertainer
14/1 Silverhand
16/1 Redera
16/1 Action Master
16/1 Bahrain Storm
16/1 Plan A
18/1 BAR
Odds kindly provided by PaddyPower.com, who will have in-running markets for all races at the 2011 Galway Festival
Posted: Wednesday, 27th July 2011
Author: Chris James
Tags: galway racing festival, galway hurdle, captain cee bee, the real article, paddypower,
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