RACING: Michael Kinane's mastery of the demanding Galway track remains unmatched and that has to be a significant plus for tonight's English raider Love Triangle. Brian O'Connor reports.
The David Elsworth-trained colt is Kinane's sole ride of the evening and brings a consistency of form that might just prove too much for the home team in the two-year-old maiden.
The domestic challenge looks to be headed by Jim Bolger's Brand New Beat, beaten a head at Leopardstown last time out, but Kinane could make all the difference to the raider.
Love Triangle has been placed in four of his five starts but the last of them indicated anything but a horse whose form is flattening out.
In Britain's first Nursery of the season he carried 9 st 7 lbs into a clear second at Salisbury and Elsworth clearly thinks a bit of him to have run Love Triangle at Goodwood three times.
The most valuable pot of the evening is the Guinness Handicap, where last year's winning trainer, Willie Mullins, runs three and Michael Halford and John Oxx have two each.
Johnny Murtagh is an eye-catching booking for Mullins's Sadlers Wings, but on soft going an each-way alternative could be the hurdler Alpha Blues.
Jim Dreaper's horse was a Listed winner in France four years ago and his first couple of flat races since then yielded placings at Fairyhouse and Leopardstown. With 5 lbs claimed, Alpha Blues is capable of making them all stretch.
The give in the going could be too much for the Killarney winner Theseus in the handicap chase but will be ideal for the local hope Half Barrell, who tries to repeat his 2001 success in the race.
Folliday returned from a year off to run a decent fourth on heavy ground behind Cloudy Bays at Tipperary and looks the best of Arthur Moore's pair.
Camargue won twice at Galway last year and returns from a couple of months of inaction to go in the mile handicap.
Camargue won off a mark of 69 last September and found only Livadiya too good in the Lincoln off a similar rating to today's.
Tony Martin gives the Brighton winner Sebring a first Irish start in this but he is hardly well in considering his Brighton success came off a mark 7 lbs lower.
The beautifully bred Timawari has a comparative penalty kick in the mile-and-a-half conditions race since officially he has two stone in hand on his two opponents.
Val O'Brien's Ballygill Heights arrives at the amateur handicap hurdle on the back of a bumper success at Killarney and should be hard to beat in his double attemptwhile the Sadler's Wells filly La Bayadere is a tentative choice in the maiden.
