Mullins among top amateurs seeking an opening-night first

7.40 Galway
Connacht Hotel Amateur Riders' Handicap |4yo+ |2m1f |RTE2/ATR

Patrick Mullins, Ireland's nine-time champion amateur, will be seeking a first success in this much-coveted amateur riders' event, the highlight of the opening card at the Galway festival.

Mullins partners recent Killarney winner Lagostovegas, one of three runners trained by his father Willie, who won the race as a rider on Pargan 32 years ago.

Katie Walsh, who rides Digeanta for Mullins, will also be seeking a first success in the race, as will reigning champion Jamie Codd, who partners Automated for Gordon Elliott, another who has yet to get his hands on this prize.

Fox out to pounce again

Swamp Fox, successful over hurdles at Killarney on his most recent start, will be bidding to become the first back-to-back winner of the event since Gamekeeper in 2000 and 2001.

The Joe Murphy-trained five-year-old, the mount of 5lb claimer Johnny Barry, is 10lb higher now.

Winning pair eyeing treble

Trainer Tony Martin and rider Steven Clements, who have teamed up to win the race twice with Edeymi (2013) and Quick Jack (2014), bid for a third success with The Graduate. The four-year-old was a four-time winner for Andrew Balding last year and will be having his first run on the Flat since joining Martin.

Age concern

No winner of this event, which was first run as a handicap in 1961, has been aged older than nine. The veteran brigade is represented this time by 12-year-old Hidden Cyclone and the ten-year-olds Digeanta and Sir Ector.

Hidden Cyclone, the winner of 17 races, has shown his liking for the track by posting big runs in the Galway Hurdle, in which he ran fourth in 2015 and second a year ago.

What they say

Dermot Weld, trainer of Zafayan and Ezanak
Zafayan has plenty of weight so we're claiming 7lb. He's a solid horse and should run a good race. Ezanak is blinkered for the first time to help him concentrate. The question mark is whether he'll get the trip. If he does, he has the ability to run very well.

Willie Mullins, trainer of Digeanta, Lagostovegas and Whiskey Sour
Lagostovegas won very comfortably at Killarney last time. She seems to be improving but will need to show that to justify her new rating. We think she will. Digeanta has been to Galway before but hasn't shown his best form there, so it will be a big test for him having been off the track for a long time before returning to action a couple of weeks ago. Whiskey Sour is low in the weights, is in good form and has an each-way chance.

Tony Martin, trainer of The Graduate
He won a few handicaps for Andrew Balding last year. He's had a couple of runs over hurdles for us and has been working well. You need a lot of luck in this race and if he gets a slice of it then he should give a good account.

Shark Hanlon, trainer of Hidden Cyclone
He's in great order and we know he handles the track well having gone very well in the last two runnings of the Galway Hurdle. He's been our stable star for a long time and we're hopeful of another big run.

Colin Kidd, trainer of Rashaan
He came out of his win over hurdles at Cork well and I'm happy that I have him where I want him to be. I'm a little concerned about the going as he's best on top of the ground, but he has a good draw and hopefully his stamina will come into play up the hill.

Joe Murphy, trainer of Swamp Fox
He came out of his hurdle win at Killarney well and I'm very happy with him. He's gone up in the weights since winning the race a year ago and we're hoping that won't prove a problem.

Denise Foster, trainer of Miles To Memphis
He's in good form. Although he's drawn wide, he's a horse who likes his own space, so that mightn't be an issue. He seems adaptable in terms of ground but a lot will depend on how he handles the track.

Denis Hogan, trainer of Shinghari
He ran very well at Killarney last time and just came up against a well-handicapped horse in Lagostovegas, who'll probably be hard to beat again. But we're meeting him on better terms and our fellow should be competitive. The ground and trip will suit.

Gordon Elliott, trainer of Automated
He's in good form. He enjoys the hustle and bustle of big fields and likes to come from off the pace, so, with luck in running, he should go well. He might turn out again in the Galway Hurdle on Thursday.