Ruby Walsh: Nowwhatdoyouthink can step up to the Plate

Tom Cox on Nowwhatdoyouthink. Pic: Nick Elliott/Inpho

I guess the only ones outside of County Kerry who could have felt a tinge of disappointment when the final whistle blew in Croke Park last Sunday were those in charge at the Galway Races.

The inevitability of what was about to unfold across the county line and the knock-on effect it was going to have on the Galway Races will have dawned on the shrewdest racecourse committee long before Jack Coyne climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand to lift the Sam Maguire.

That reality probably extended to some of the publicans in the city by Monday evening, as the size and scope of the party in Castlebar was even luring neutrals further west post-racing rather than into Galway city.

I won’t lie, the thought even crossed my mind as I drove out of Ballybrit on Monday evening, and by the time I got home, my daughters were wondering why we weren’t all there. 

There are celebrations and parties, but MacHale Park resembled Slane Castle and Electric Picnic rolled into one from what I could see, and it was no wonder Ballybrit had felt a bit flat.

Perhaps today will see some wander south looking to spread the word of Mayo’s glory, and their infectious joy will be warmly welcomed on Plate day as the biggest race of the week takes centre stage this evening.

There was shock and horror amongst some in the racing world when the Plate entries were released on July 16 that a mere 32 horses had been entered in the contest. Where had all the horses gone, and would the Plate even have a full field? 

Well, it does, and 22 will go to post unless there are non-runners today, and the ridiculous early cut-off for reserves to get in prevents someone from taking their chance. It is also worth noting that only 14 runners lined up in the Plate in 2001 when Moscow Express shouldered 12st 2lbs with a rating of 157, which is a mark 4lbs above that of today's top weight, Senecia.

The other point of note that has changed over time is that when Moscow Express was allotted 12st 2lbs in 2001, it meant that River Cora sat at the foot of the weights carrying 9st 7lbs, in the handicap proper off a mark of 120.

A 37lbs weight range meant horses in the low 120s were entered in the race in the hope of getting a spot, but with alterations over time to the weight structures and a reduction in the weight range to 26lbs, people have stopped entering those horses.

Antrim Coast is currently at the bottom of the weights in the Blazers on Friday with a rating of 121, so the horses haven’t gone anywhere; they are just in the race they can run in, bar two. Those two are American Mike and Addragoole, who would have got a spot in the Plate but have been kept for the calmer waters of the Blazers and a shot at €47,000 instead of €159,000.

I always look for a second-season novice in the Galway Plate, an improving horse who could be ahead of the handicapper and one with enough pace to have been competitive over a shorter trip.

Speed is a common language in sport; it ultimately was at the World Cup, definitely was in Croke Park last Sunday and will be in the opening two furlongs today when those who don’t have it find the tempo too hot from flagfall to the first fence and can’t get themselves into a position where you can win the race from.

Funiculi Funicula, Downmexicoway, Will The Wise and Nowwhatdoyouthink represent the leading four National Hunt trainers and fit the bill for what is traditionally required to win. The negative for three of them is that they have already won handicaps and therefore put themselves in a position for the handicapper to assess them better. 

The one who hasn’t is Nowwhatdoyouthink, who rounded out last season with a career-best effort when third in the Grade One stayers’ novice chase at Punchestown.

His new connections then purchased him, and he has moved home from Ray Hackett’s in Tipperary to Gordon Elliott's yard in Meath. Theoretically, he could have been raised a lot more for his Punchestown run than the 6lbs he got, so there is every chance this seven-year-old son of Mount Nelson is the best in, of the leading fancies.

Ballygunner Castle has to prove he has the pace, Rocky’s Diamond needs to jump better than he has done in the past, and Jesse Evans is only two pounds lower than last year but is now a 10-year-old. 

Gorgeous Tom could be a lively outsider; Nouvotic is up 11lbs for his Punchestown win, and Ol Man Dingle got 10lbs for winning the Plate trial in Kilbeggan, where he beat the well-exposed 10-year-old Gaelic Arc by a neck, which looks harsh enough.

Perceval Legallois has promised to deliver much more than he has and hit the crossbar in the Midlands National and snook up 3lbs but that still leaves him only 2lbs above the mark off which he routed his rivals in the 2024 Paddy Power. He did win here in October 2023 over 2m and 2f, so if his nine-year-old legs still retain the speed, he could get involved.

Spread Boss Ted’s 2024 Albert Bartlett form reads very well, and he remains on the mark that saw him finish third at Punchestown but the stiff finish could catch out Conyers Hill, whose best efforts have come at easier tracks.

Reverend Hubert hasn’t run in a chase in two years, but Charles Byrnes can do mysterious things, whileBarry Lyndon massively underperformed on his only other trip to Galway.

King Alexander hasn’t yet run with the huge assistance of Daniel King, and his Cheltenham fourth puts him on my shortlist, but a mark in the 150s will keep Three Card Brag off it. Solitary Man may have had his Gold Cup in the Midlands National, and both Maxxum and Buddy One look like they prefer hurdles to me. 

King Of Kingsfield is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde, and it takes a Galway specialist to carry top weight and win a Plate, which Senecia isn’t.

Therefore I have boiled it down to a few, King Alexander, Spread Boss Ted, Perceval Legallois and Gorgeous Tom all at big prices each way and Nowwhatdoyouthink for the man who has won five of the last 10 renewals of the Galway Plate.