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Irish Daily Mirror

'I strongly fancy a Familiar 10-1 shot to score on day one of the Galway Races'

The opening night featured Connacht Hotel (Q.R.) Handicap is the amateur rider's big race of the week and has thrown up some great stories in the past. Incredibly, 61 years ago Dermot Weld won the race for the first time as a jockey on Tirconderoga while 50 years ago the Master of Rosewell house rode Spanner, a horse trained by himself, to a hat-trick of victories. Willie Mullins has also a proud record in the race and 40 years ago he tasted success as jockey on Pargan and has since won five times as a trainer. Decades later these pair of Irish horse racing legends are back and hunting more glory in the 2025 version, and it promises to be another exciting start to this seven-day Festival. 5.10 - Galway Bay Novice Hurdle 2m The Festival's opening race and a contest that has produced some smart Willie Mullins' trained winners like Easy Game and Mystical Power in recent years. Mullins' DAVY CROCKETT is a half-brother to the Grade 1 winning Mystical Power and is out of the Champion Hurdle winner Annie Power, who also won here at the Festival. He was well-backed on his debut in a bumper at Punchestown and won like a smart horse and could prove difficult to beat on his hurdling debut. Chortal brings plenty of experience while Mick Collins probably should have won at Bellewstown last time out and will be on the premises. TIP: DAVY CROCKETT Each-way: Mick Collins 5.40 - Iggy Daly Easyfix Handicap Hurdle 2m PAUL COLLINS is an ex-Robcour-owned and Gordon Elliott-trained gelding that's now in Brian McMahon's yard and he does look on a handy mark. He ran his best race for some time when second at Kilbeggan in April and was keeping better company than this when trained in Cullentra. It's a wide open race and another who could run into a place is Ross O'Sullivan's Prove Yourself, who won at Tramore and has since finished third at Roscommon and Kilnbeggan. TIP: PAUL COLLINS Each-way: Prove Yourself 6.10 - Eventus Irish EBF (C & G) Maiden 7f It's difficult to get away from the chances of CONSTITUTION RIVER for Aidan O'Brien and Coolmore in the week's first flat race. The son of Wootton Bassett was beaten only a short-head on his debut at Newmarket and given the way Ballydoyle juveniles usually improve for their first run, his chances look strong. Dermot Weld is not the force of old at Galway but he usually keeps some nice juveniles for the Festival and his Masaban is likely run well in the colours of the late Aga Khan. TIP: CONSTITUTION RIVER Each-way: Masaban 6.40 - Connacht Hotel (Q.R.) Handicap 2m The traditional opening night feature and race that Willie Mullins, who first won this as a jockey 40 years ago, has an enviable recent record with five wins since 2017. Mullins' smart juvenile hurdler Too Bossy For Us could start favourite with his son and champion amateur jump jockey Patrick booked to ride. His credentials are strong but our preference is for Mullins' old foe Gordon Elliott with a fascinating filly named FAMILIAR DREAMS. (Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire) Originally a very cheap 4,000 guineas purchase, Familiar Dreams won four bumpers for trainer Anthony McCann — including a Grade 3 prize at the Punchestown festival — before being sold for a hefty €310,000 price tag to Elliott and Qatar Racing. She won a strong flat race at Tramore last summer before embarking on a hurdles campaign that saw her run okay in two end of season Grade 1 races at Aintree and Punchestown. She's changed ownership again and looks primed for a big run with young Josh Williamson claiming 7lbs The Shunter is now a 12-year-old but the one-time Cheltenham Festival winner ran well here at this meeting last year and has another big run in him for Emmet Mullins and JP McManus. TIP: FAMILIAR DREAMS (nap) Each-way: The Shunter 7.15 - Clayton Hotel Galway Handicap 7f Joseph O'Brien and Dylan Browne McMonagle are in serious form and both trainer and jockey are operating off a strike rate better than 20 percent at the moment. They team up with HONEYSUCKLE ROSE here and from a good draw the filly should give a bold bid, having won a maiden and run well to finish third on her handicap debut at Gowran Park last month. Gangsta Man is given an each-way shout for Wesley Joyce and Kevin Smith having won at Roscommon and losing his chance at the Curragh next time out when stumbling out of the stalls. TIP: HONEYSUCKLE ROSE Each-way: Gangsta Man 7.50 - Grá Chocolates Handicap 1m4f Aidan O'Brien's horses in a handicap are always worth consideration and although PROPOSE has top weight to shoulder here, he does bring a level of form well above his rivals. The son of Frankel was considered good enough to go to Royal Ascot and previous to that disappointing run he won a maiden at the Curragh on Guineas weekend. A bit of ease in the ground will help and he'll have no issue with the 1m4 distance. Miss Nifty can run into a place for Sheila Lavery and Rory Cleary. A recent arrival from the UK, she ran well at Leopardstown last time out and the Meath woman's horses often go well at this Festival. TIP: PROPOSE Each-way: Miss Nifty 8.20 - Monami Construction Flat Race 2m A four-year-old bumper to finish this eclectic mix of racing where FAITH OF EMPIRES is a speculative choice with little or no form to go by. An usually Turkish bred gelding, he runs in the Mee family's colours and Emmet Mullins has booked top amateur rider Johnny Gleeson. TIP: FAITH OF EMPIRES Each-way: Maskarvel GALWAY DAY ONE SELECTIONS BRIAN FLANAGAN Davy Crockett Paul Collins Constitution River Familiar Dreams (nap) Honeysuckle Rose Propose Faith Of Empires