Beset fancied to shine for Joseph O'Brien in Tuesday's Galway feature
Starford and Scott McCullagh (left) win for trainer Joseph O'Brien from Beset. Pic: Healy Racing.
Joseph O’Brien trains seven of the 16 runners in Tuesday’s Galway feature, the listed Ardilaun Hotel Irish EBF Oyster Stakes, and Beset is fancied to land the spoils in the hands of Declan McDonagh.
A daughter of Expert Eye, Beset began her five-year-old campaign with an emphatic victory at Naas in March before running a cracker to finish a close second behind Starford in the Group 3 Alleged Stakes at the Curragh a month later, both runs coming on soft ground.
She was then stepped up Group 2 company in the Mooresbridge Stakes at the start of May but the quality of the race and the faster surface proved too much for her and she finished fifth of six in a race won by Minnie Hauk.
Beset hasn’t run since but she has gone well fresh in the past and, with conditions set to be far more to her liking than was the case on her most recent outing, she could prove a tough nut to crack here.
The lightly-raced Classiest could prove the biggest threat to the selection. Trained by Aidan O’Brien, the Wootton Bassett filly made a winning debut on testing ground at this venue last October. She then shaped well when third in a listed race at Gowran Park last month. Given that was her first outing for 10 months, she should be better for that run so a bold bid can be anticipated.
Aidan O’Brien trains three of the six runners in the opening race, the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden, and City Of Gold may be able to get the better of stablemate Noble Exhibit.
Only fifth on debut at Fairyhouse, City Of Gold took a big forward second time out, finding only Trean too good at Galway. That form got a boost when Trean finished a respectable third to Haffner in the Group 3 Acomb Stakes at York so there’s plenty to like about City Of Gold’s prospects.
Having twice hit the crossbar at the Galway festival in the summer, San Aer is fancied to gain compensation in the Racing In The City Of Tribes Handicap.
The Ross O’Sullivan-trained eight-year-old hasn’t won a race since scoring at Tuesday’s venue for Tom Mullins way back in October 2023 but he came mighty close to ending that long losing run when finding only Lady Arwen too good two starts ago.
Pitched back into action in another Ballybrit handicap four days later, he didn’t get the clearest of runs at the business end of proceedings and crossed the line fifth, just a length and a quarter behind the winner.
He deserves a change of luck and this might be the day he gets it.
3.43 City Of Gold
4.18 Never Loose
4.53 Down The Glen
5.30 Churchill Bond
6.00 San Aer (NB)
6.30 Beset (Nap)
7.00 Faro Island
7.30 Porters Corner
3.43 Noble Exhibit
4.18 Lady Arwen
4.53 Nazario
5.30 Katiraya
6.00 Loingseoir
6.30 Classiest
7.00 Belle Nuit
7.30 Zadawa,
