Dream comes true for Dunsdon on 50/1 outsider Sirius at Galway Festival
The Corinthian spirit was alive and well on Monday evening in Ballybrit, Co Galway, as David Dunsdon, a family man, successful businessman and enthusiastic amateur rider from Britain realised a dream by winning the Connacht Hotel Qualified Riders’ Handicap aboard Sirius.
The winner, a 50-1 chance trained by Willie Mullins, was relatively unconsidered as a potential victor and the jockey admitted his plan to race prominently went out the window almost as soon as the stalls opened. However, it proved to be the most fortuitous course as the leaders went off quickly, went for home a long way out, and opened up the possibility of something coming from the clouds and snatching victory.
And so it transpired as Sirius, who was stone last for some part of the race, found an extra gear and, one by one, passed her rivals before collaring the game Baltic Bird close home.
The knowing smile and sheer joy on Dunsdon’s face as he hit the front and encouraged his mount to keep going all the way to the line told the story of what it meant to win this prestigious race.
“Thanks so much,” said Dunsdon, holding back tears as he was congratulated in the immediate aftermath. “Being British, growing up you watch this race and I kind of think of it as the Melbourne Cup for amateurs, being two miles and a handicap, and I’m so thankful to Willie and his team … I’m so lucky. I didn’t ride for four years, had a family, came out of retirement, and this was the dream.
“A few years ago, I saw Mark Cavendish making his comeback and I thought, I don’t want to drift into middle age. I’m so thankful to the whole team, I’m just a really lucky guy.”
Recalling the plan, he added: “I was going to try to jump out and be handy, but the mare was lugging a bit left, and I missed the kick, so I thought okay, I’m going to try to relax now. Willie said to try to find your way through, and it’s amazing when you ride horses for Willie how fit they are. It’s like you’ve got Mo Farah in the last furlong — it’s absolutely amazing.
“I didn’t want to rush her and then for her to get keen, because she used to be a bit keen and also, I watched the riders who ride for Willie, and they’re amazing at settling horses. I thought I better not get her back in the race and for her to get keen, so I decided to sit chilly and tried to build coming down the hill. And also, because she hadn’t run over a mile and a half and had run only once in a year and a half, I tried to ride her with cold blood.”
For Mullins it was a fifth winner in the race since 2017 and he admitted to being impressed by the winning ride.
“A couple of years ago, he asked me to buy him a horse to ride in the race, so Harold (Kirk) and Pierre (Boulard) picked this one in France,” said Mullins. “Unfortunately, she missed the race last year, through injury, but fair dues to David, he kept himself fit enough to ride this horse. That’s a hard thing to do, to come back and be fit enough to ride in a top-class race like that. I don’t think there was a blow out of him.
“He never sat on her before, either. He was supposed to come over and ride her out and that fell through for some reason or other. It’s a big thing coming in here and riding a horse you’ve never ridden before, and not the easiest filly in the world to ride.”
Hit early and hit hard seemed to be the maxim of Richard O’Brien as he sent one horse to the Galway festival, a runner in the first race of the meeting, and made it count as Feud, ridden by Danny Mullins, raced away with the Galmont Hotel & The Galway Bay Hotel Novice Hurdle.
“I was saying to Danny afterwards, that it’s quite intriguing going forward as to what way he can go because it was quite impressive,” said O’Brien of the half-brother to this year’s Irish 1000 Guineas winner Fallen Angel. “But the nerves beforehand, that would be my handwriting, so it wouldn’t matter because if it was a bumper in Ballinrobe I’d be under pressure.
“The last 48 hours has been hell, but we’re here, we’re through it, and yeah, I loved what he did, and I loved the way he jumped. He was a bit fumbly and made a few mistakes in Listowel, and funnily enough, I thought that might be still in him a bit, but he was very clever, jumped some of them beautifully, and the ones he didn’t he just kicked him out of the way and never missed a beat. He’s a very interesting horse going forward.”
On paper, the Easyfix Handicap Hurdle looked competitive, but it proved anything but as Son Of Hypnos, trained by Kevin Smith and ridden by his nephew, James, left his rivals standing as he sprinted up the straight to win by ten lengths.
Aidan O’Brien’s Rock Of Cashel impressed in taking the Eventus Irish EBF Maiden under Wayne Lordan. “On his homework, we thought he could come and win, but you’re not sure,” said Lordan. “He was watching everything the last day, but today he was much more tuned in. He was professional. I think he’ll have no trouble stepping up, and the more runs he gets, he’ll keep improving.”
James Ryan is a young rider going places and the 5lb claimer was seen to great effect aboard the Jack Davison-trained Artful Approach in the Clayton Hotel Galway Handicap. Tony Mullins has a promising sort in Kentucky Gal, who got up in the final strides to take the Gra Chocolates Handicap.
The day certainly hadn’t gone the way of punters, with no favourite in the first two in the first six races of the meeting, but Delta Force righted that wrong when landing a gamble in the finale, the Monami Construction Bumper. Given a confident ride by Ray Barron, the Charles Byrnes-trained 11-8 chance came from nearly last to first to send favourite backers with a degree of positivity at the end of a testing day.
- The opening day crowd figure, of 17.074, was a shade better than the same day in 2023 of 16,718.
