Going - Flat: yielding, good in places. N.H.: good.. Overcast and some light rain
Jackpot Pool - €52,821.05 Dividend - €1,760.70 Winning Units - 21. Placepot Pool - €71,372.94 Dividend - €25.40 Winning Units - 1962.69. Pick Six Pool - €48,373.14 Days Aggregate - €862,306.00 Last Year €782,346.00
Muthaza eases home in Festival opener
She is a good filly, her work at home has always been good. She won very well in Tramore and again at Bellewstown and she has progressed to win here today. She's a filly we like a lot. I was certainly very worried at the third last. If she made a mistake it was going to be tough for her to make up the ground but she jumped well. She jumped the second last very quick and slick and from then on I wasn't worried. It's a good start to the Festival.
Shake The Bucket keeps on winning
Absolutely brilliant! He's a family horse and he just keeps winning. He is just so good. Dad (trainer Niall Madden) would sooner have him over any of us! Dad is over the moon now. We all love Galway and are big fans of Galway. To have a winner in Galway is something special. He has won a point-to-point, he has won over hurdles, he has won over fences and he has won on the flat.
Weld strikes with Right Honourable
He is a very nice horse. I had a concern as I said I was held up with him for a few days so even more credit to the horse. He's by Famous Name who won 21 races for us - 20 Stakes or Group races. I bred him with my late mother. His dam Agnetha was a very good mare for us. We have the dam and we have all the relations. Famous Name stands at the Irish National Stud. I have been saying for a long time that he is the best value in Ireland for anybody who wants to breed a mare, for what he stands for 3,000 Euro. A beautifully-bred horse and one of the toughest and best racehorses that I have ever trained so this horse just proved the genes of his sire and his dam. It is beautiful ground there at the moment, it is good ground. He is very adaptable. It's always a good two-year-old race. He's a nice horse and I'll look for a Group or Listed race for him next over seven furlongs to a mile.
Spruce Meadows and Halpin team up well
We are going well. It was great to have a winner in Galway, its our first winner as we only had a couple of runners here last year. Gary gave him a great ride. It didn't go to plan early but Gary used his head and he's great value for his 3lbs. I better not praise him too much! . He won well. In fairness to him he is quite consistent since we got him. He was a bit unlucky the last day, he ran well in Naas and we said we would put him away for the owners as they wanted to have a runner in Galway. He has won so it's a bonus.
Browne takes honours on Swamp Fox
It was the plan. We had him in an amateur flat race at Leopardstown and we thought he would go well there and that would put him right for here. Then we went to Ballinrobe and the handicapper gave us 1lb. We were very lucky to get the rider as it was in the last moment. I did a bit of research and this rider was recommended to me. I gave him two pieces of instruction which I very seldom give a jockey - I said if you can get out get up there and, if not, take your time. One thing about him is he will travel, he will finish and he's a lazy horse. I have always said there is a big race in this horse and he is a lovely horse to have. To win an amateur race here and to have a big race in Galway just makes life worth living!
Motherland rules the roost in Galway
I suppose you get even more of a kick out of it if anything. He was working nicely and he has been improving with racing. I didn't expect him to win quite as well as he did. It was a funny kind of a race, the distances might have been exaggerated a bit but I think he's a nice horse. He could be (a Stakes horse). Quite a well-bred horse. The rain probably helped him today and he stays very well. I thought he would go very close today and may be hard to beat but I didn't think he would win like that. We'll see what the handicapper does but there is a 1m6f handicap at York on Ebor day for three-year-olds. He is good to jump but he might even be worth keeping to the flat.
Culloty saddles first Festival winner
He's a lovely horse who wants three miles over hurdles. He ran an adequate race in March and we put him aside for this. Finny gave him a peach and the horse galloped the whole way to the line. He'll probably go on over hurdles now and wants a trip. He's a King's Theatre and that ground is spot-on for him - he wants the easy side of good. Stamina is his forte. Finny has ridden for me a couple of times and is an excellent rider. This is my first Galway Festival winner.
