Galway Plate preview: Main contenders, trends and a free 10/1 tip

Liam Bramall

Published: July 30, 2024

Horse racing is in Liam's blood and his biggest passion is jumps racing. He can often be found at his favourite tracks; Chepstow and Cheltenham in the Autumn when the National Hunt action kicks off. In his own words: "I'm often referred to as a walking form book, a trait which comes in handy from time to time. My proudest tipping success to date was landing a whopping 682-1 accumulator at Epsom."

The Galway Plate is one of the most important races at the Galway Festival and it takes place on Wednesday. We’ve assessed the chances of the main contenders, picked out some key trends and provided a verdict for the race. Our ante-post selection is set to take his chance and you can view that here. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.

Contenders

15. Perceval Legallois

Gavin Cromwell’s seven-year-old has already fallen twice in just five starts over fences, which is a concern. He stays well however and his unexposed profile gives him every chance with a clean round of jumping.

Perceval Legallois

Analysis

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14. In Excelsis Deo

One for the British, Harry Fry’s 142-rated gelding was an impressive winner at Cheltenham when last seen. This is a new trip and he’s definitely of interest.

In Excelsis Deo

Analysis

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18. Lets Go Champ

Rachael Blackmore and Henry de Bromhead are always worth keeping an eye on and this horse won a good race at the Punchestown Festival on just his fourth chase start. Further improvement shouldn’t be ruled out.

Lets Go Champ

Analysis

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8. Mister Policeman

Willie Mullins’ first string hasn’t quite hit the heights that his trainer expected but there’s still time for that. A rating of 149 isn’t particularly generous however and more will be needed here.

Mister Policeman

Analysis

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13. Amirite

He’s been a tad disappointing in truth and has failed to win since October 2022, despite being well fancied many times. With that in mind, he’s fairly easy to oppose once again.

Amirite

Analysis

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12. Zanahiyr

Gordon Elliott’s runner has some excellent Grade 1 form over hurdles and if reproducing a similar effort here, could well be the one to beat.

Zanahiyr

Analysis

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1. Ashtree Meadow

This horse was a good winner of the Galway Plate last year but that success came off a 15lb lower mark. Life will be much harder this time around and others appeal more.

Ash Tree Meadow

Analysis

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Trends

Six of the last 10 winners have been seven-year-olds and none have been 10 or older. The trends suggest you should be on the lookout for a less exposed type.

Gordon Elliott has won four of the last 10 renewals and he’s definitely the one to watch on that evidence.

Only two of the last 10 winners have carried 11 stone or more, which indicates that weight carrying performances are hard to pull off in this race.

Verdict

Zanahiyr has an excellent chance according to the trends and his trainer seems confident of a big run too. There’s no doubt he possesses the class to come out on top and has every chance of doing so.

Zanahiyr

Analysis

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If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.