Galway Races - Tips

Galway Races - Tips

"Any tips for Galway Races?"

Ask Damien McElroy, racing tipster of the Irish Independent. Ask racehorse trainer Christy Roche. Ask RTE's Tracy Piggott.

Make sure to ask everyone you meet: friends, colleagues and total strangers. Don't forget Gráinne Seoige, Pat Kenny and Anthony Ryan's Best Dressed Lady. It's all part of the 'Tips for Galway Races' tradition.

In the long run, however, the best way to profit from their well-intentioned Galway tips is to file them all under 'Amnesia'.

The boys in The Mullioned Snug offered the following as a FEW of the reasons why tipped horses lose at Galway (and at other racetracks throughout the world).

Horse - too slow; badly drawn; too much weight; dwelt at the start; didn't stay; unsuited by trip; didn't come up the hill; didn't go down the hill; unsuited by right-handed course; slipped up on landing; bad luck in running; scoped badly after the race; burst a blood vessel; saddle slipped; lost his place; stone bruise; didn't get a clear run; needed the run; ran out ......

Jockey - lost his whip; not suited to horse; tactical error; came too early; came too late; not forceful enough in finish; fell off; out too late the night before ....

Trainer - stable out of form; not good at placing his horses; readying horse for a future race .....

At this point, the barman in The Mullioned Snug called 'last orders'.

With so many excuses for losing horses, it's hard to see how any sane racegoer would seriously expect to make money from tips for Galway Races?

Galway Races - Bookmakers

Galway Races' Bookmakers

'Bookmakers look forward to the Galway Races to boost their fluctuating funds. A bumper week at this cornucopian venue invariably puts them 'in front' for the year. Inexperienced holiday punters contribute ceremonially to the bookies' coffers through their artless bets on pin-selected horses and those with agreeable names.

On the other hand, informed gamblers and 'strokers' with mysteriously inexhaustible funds can cause serious damage at the competitive betting odds generally available at Galway.

When heavily-supported horses oblige in consecutive races, the resultant queues of winning punters are enough to strike panic into the heart of the most phlegmatic turf accountant.

The bookmaker's recurring nightmare must surely be a record losing day at Galway with payout queues stretching telescopically into the famous sunset, and his assistants whispering nervously: 'We aren't going to have enough readies to pay this lot.'

Miraculously, the trusty betting-bag proves equal to the most exacting demands and yields funds far in excess of its squat dimensions. Talk about loaves and fishes … or rabbits from a hat! Bookmakers regularly perform biblical and theatrical feats at the Galway Races.'
From 'The Galway Races'

Irish Derby 2009 Attendance

Irish Derby 2009 - Official attendance 23,271
15 per cent down on Irish Derby 2008

Irish Derby 2009 - €1.6m bet with the bookies
Irish Derby 2008 - €2.1m bet with bookies

The Galway Race Committee must act decisively to avoid the same fate.
Drastic times call for drastic measures.
Now that the tent pegs have been uprooted, what next?

In The Mullioned Snug last night, the following song titles were suggested by a trio of disillusioned tipplers:

'Galway Races - The Thrill Is Gone'
'Galway Races - Those Were The Days'
'Galway Races - Yesterday, All My Troubles Seemed So Far Away'
'Galway Races - The Carnival Is Over'
'Galway Races - Save The Last Dance For Me'
'Galway Races - A Nation Turns Its Lonely Eyes to You'

Galway Races - A Beaten Docket?
I hope not.

Jim Bolger - Galway Races

Jim Bolger

(Photo: Peter Mooney)

"Galway - The Right-handed Epsom of Ireland"

In 'Galway for the Races', Jim Bolger told Barry Henriques:

"The one aspect of going to Galway that I find infuriating is the infernal road traffic. It is probably one of the reasons why we stay in Galway for the duration. I pity the numbers of patrons who are forced, by reason of work or commitment elsewhere, to make the journey on a daily basis.

I have often referred to it (Galway) as the right-handed Epsom of Ireland. People often say that the hill is the deciding factor, but I can assure you that if your horse is travelling well down the hill, you have a great chance of being in the frame. Position is everything as you race into the dip. Of course, it's a tough climb up the hill as you turn in but, if you haven't travelled well to the hill and you have a poor position, you have no chance of getting home in front.

People come from all over to Galway. That is another reason for being there. You meet people at the Galway Races that you may never meet until the following year. It is a date marked into the diaries of many of our emigrants from all over the world. I've met people from New York and San Francisco. I've met them from all over the UK and Europe. I've met them from Asia and Australia. I love talking to them. It (Galway Races) also has a great magnetism for sports people: hurlers, footballers, and rugby people."

Jim Bolger's first winner at Galway was Pigeon's Nest. Ridden by Peter Scudamore, it landed the John Player's Amateur Handicap in 1979.

Paddy Mullins - The Galway Maestro

Paddy Mullins

(Photo: Peter Mooney)

"I wouldn't miss going there for diamonds."

Paddy Mullins, the legendary Galway specialist, told Barry Henriques of the 'Kilkenny People': "I raced in Tuam much earlier than I raced in Galway. It took us a long time to have a horse capable of giving a good account of himself in Galway. But when we succeeded in getting a decent horse ready for Galway, we never looked back afterwards."

"I loved Galway," he added,"and I suspect Galway loved me. It was a very lucky track for me, and I never had any major misfortune there over all the years I have been travelling there. My brother, Captain Luke Mullins, was the Clerk of the Course there for years, so it was particularly enjoyable for me and my family to go and stay with him.

I love going to Galway and nothing has changed over the years to quench that regard. It has an attraction all its own and it is, without doubt, the best racing track in the country. They have made enormous improvements over the years, and I wouldn't miss going down there for diamonds. It is a unique place in every sense of the word."

Extract from 'Galway for the Races' - published in 2006.

Galway Races - Edward O'Grady

Edward O'Grady
(Photo: Peter Mooney)

"Galway is a flagship for racing in this country."

In an interview for 'Galway for the Races', trainer Edward O'Grady told Barry Henriques of the 'Kilkenny People': "I love Galway. I have so many great memories of Ballybrit, so many friends around Galway. For a whole raft of reasons, it has become one of the great shining lights of the Irish racing scene. It is no secret why it has achieved the great regard it has in people's estimation.

Galway is a flagship for racing in this country, particularly steeplechasing racing. It is a hugely progressive track with an enormously hard-working and dedicated Committee, and a Manager (John Moloney) who must be the envy of all other racing venues around the country."

Edward recalled his best memories of the Galway Races: "I have so many great days, and great memories, since I first started training and taking horses to Galway, but if pressed, I suppose, in deference to other great horses and great acclaim, I would have to say that winning the double with Hindhope and Hard Tarquin on successive days (1979) with Jonjo (O'Neill) in the saddle would probably rank as the best memory."

Galway Races Magazine

Galway for the Races

'Galway for the Races', a souvenir guide to Galway Races, was published in July 2006 by My Parish Publishing.

The editorial team comprised Geraldine Carr, Frank Burke, and Bert & Clare Richards.

Among the articles featured in the first issue were interviews with Jim Bolger,

Edward O'Grady and Paddy Mullins.