Galway option for Missunited

Mick Winters will leave it up to Missunited’s owner to decide whether to let the admirable mare defend her Galway Hurdle crown after going so close to Gold Cup glory at Royal Ascot.

The seven-year-old gave Winters his second successive victory in the Galway Hurdle last summer, following on from Rebel Fitz’s triumph 12 months earlier, and has since carried that momentum forward to run some fantastic races on the Flat.

Despite winning Leopardstown’s Saval Beg Stakes earlier in the month, Missunited was a 40-1 outsider for Thursday’s two-and-a-half-mile showpiece, but ran a storming race under a brilliant front-running ride from Jim Crowley, beaten just half a length into third by hot favourite Leading Light and defending champion Estimate.

Winters said: “It was a great run and you’d have to be delighted with her.

“They got into a bit of a barging match there at the finish, but she ran a great race, she’s well in herself and her legs are as cold as ice.

“She’s a big, strong mare, she’s easy to train and you’d have to say she’s still improving.

“She won’t be going anywhere for three weeks and the owner will pick out the races, but I’d say she’ll get the entry in Galway and we’ll see how we go.”