Kiely sharpens two arrows for Galway Hurdle
The seven-year-old shot to the head of the market for the valuable contest after rattling up a hat-trick over timber earlier this year.
He has been given a break to recover from those exertions and Kiely is hoping his charge comes through Thursday’s Roughan & O’Donovan “Des Kernan Memorial” Handicap well enough to line up at the big Festival meeting.
“The plan is to run him at Leopardstown before Galway but we will just have to take it one race at a time,” confirmed Kiely.
“He seems in great form and the intention is that the race at Leopardstown will just bring him on a little. He has now won his last three and has done us proud whatever happens.”
Another Kiely inmate heading for Galway is Indian Pace and he could run twice at the popular meeting.
“The Galway Hurdle is the plan for him too and he will not be out of place in the race,” added Kiely.
“He may also run in the G.P.T. Galway Handicap on the Monday night beforehand so we will just see how things go.”
King Rama is as short as 13-2 favourite with Coral for the Galway Hurdle, with Indian Pace a best-priced 20-1 with Ladbrokes and Paddy Power.
Paul Nolan, trainer of heavily-backed 2004 hero Cloone River, is unlikely to have a runner in this year’s renewal with French Accordion almost certain to miss the cut.
The County Wexford handler famously ran down the track punching the air with delight when Cloone River quickened away to score as the 7-2 favourite four years ago, but French Accordion’s rating sees him sitting well down the handicap on just 9st 3lb.
However, the winner of four chases could still race in one of the feature events at next week’s meeting, with Galway having been on the agenda since he was pulled up in the Queen Mother Champion Chase in March.
Nolan said: “He won’t get into the Hurdle so we have the Plate as an option or he could go for one of the other handicaps during the week.
“The Galway Hurdle was the plan after Cheltenham but things didn’t go right. I was going to run him in Tipperary but the ground let us down and I had to pull him out.
“We probably chose wrong in going for a chase at Killarney the last day when he ran well to be third. He wasn’t fit enough to take on the calibre of horses he did that day but the run has brought him on.
“He is in all the handicap hurdles that he is eligible for and we’ll make a decision closer to the time.”
While the eight-year-old notched up four straight wins over fences last autumn, Nolan feels the horse ended up on a rating above his station.
“He won his first handicap in Killarney and then went to Listowel and won another handicap,” added Nolan.
“He then showed improvement to win a Grade Three race but when he won the Fortria he beat horses who were coming to the end of their careers and the ground was like a road.”
