Pat Hughes took the opening day feature at Galway with Gamekeeper and he did the same last night when Grinkov stormed off with the £25,000 Guinness Handicap.
'A mile and a half is no problem to him now, eh!' said the Co Carlow trainer, alluding to prerace fears that the trip might have been beyond Grinkov.
Nothing could have been further from the truth as Fran Berry launched the five-year-old into overdrive on the turn in to collar the outsider McCracken and win by two lengths. The English raider Inching Closer was third with the favourite Izmir fourth.
Grinkov is owned by the enthusiastic eight-member Anns Backer Syndicate - 'make sure you spell it right' - and is in again tomorrow in the maiden hurdle.
The major gamble of the night was landed in the two-year-old maiden by the Jim Bolger-trained newcomer Galanta but it was a close-run thing.
The Desert Style colt was backed from around 5 to 2 into 11 to 10 but appeared to run very green into the dip. When Galanta met the rising ground, he quickened into the lead but then ran green again and it was only by a neck that he survived from Langkawi Island.
The winner was also bred by Bolger who will aim Galanta at a Tattersalls race at Fairyhouse at the end of the month.
Galanta`s rider Kevin Manning had earlier scored in an even more desperate finish as Markskeepingfaith just held off the topweight Golden Fact and Molly-O in a driving finish to the Harp Handicap.
'Kevin was very cool after the horse missed the break slightly,' said trainer Tommy Carmody who added that Markskeeping faith had also won on the course in 1998 as well as winning the same race last year.
The most flamboyant ride of the evening, though, came from Paul Carberry who was at his most impudent best on Dermot Weld`s Francis Bay in the handicap chase. Francis Bay won by a neck from River Cora but Carberry had been motionless for the last furlong, leaving Norman Williamson with a thankless task on the second.
'What can I say? Watch the video because you`ll never see the like of it for confidence,' grinned Weld.
Weld took himself to within one of JJ Parkinson`s all-time Irish winner record when Ansar landed the odds in the last, beating Morning Breeze by four lengths. 'That was another great ride from Pat Smullen,' declared Weld before nominating the English Cesarewitch as a longterm target for Ansar.
Favourite backers got it dead right in the mile and a half maiden as Mick Kinane drove Rostropovich to a success from Cymbeline but they were on the wrong end of a tight photo in the opener when Rith Dubh was just touched off by Shereevagh.
It was a first Galway success for trainer Tom McCourt who bought the winner out of Con Collins`s yard for £5,500. 'He was a very slow learner but has come good,' said McCourt. Shereevagh`s rider Peter Casey afterwards received a three-day ban for his use of the whip.
The Galway festival betting figures continued to spiral last night with the bookmakers` turnover up almost £200,000 from last year to £1,629,579. The crowd of 22,884 (compared to 20,047 in 1999) bet an astonishing £388,167 on the last race won by Ansar. There was a sixth day Tote record of £630,958, breaking the 1992 record of £458,897.
