'I might as well' - Queally eyes turning pro after success on Western Victory

We knew Western Victory was versatile, but in the feature Listed mares' hurdle she demonstrated just how so as she came home in splendid isolation, benefiting from a very positive ride from her trainer Declan Queally.

The daughter of Westerner opened up a clear lead from about halfway and, despite a clumsy jump at the last, she proved too good for her opposition as she came home ten lengths clear of the Gordon Elliott-trained Say Goodbye.

The mare made light of the drop back to 2m having been touched off in a very valuable 2m7f handicap hurdle at the Galway festival, and was repeating her victory in this race in 2019.

Queally told Racing TV: "I said beforehand that I was going to go a gallop because I was riding her myself, and if it went wrong we could cry all the way home.

"She stays and she can go a gallop, she is tough, genuine and jumps so it worked out. She has won on all ground and at all trips over hurdles and fences, she has done it all. It's some thrill to ride a horse like that."

Queally also revealed personal ambitions for himself in his intentions to turn professional as a rider, saying: "I've applied for the fitness test in two weeks and I'm booked in for the course. I've a bit of running to do so hopefully I can keep it up.

"I might as well, I'm still young enough at 32. We've bigger numbers of horses at home now and much bigger staff so I will have a couple of rides every week.

"I wouldn't want to do it unless I had a good few horses to ride so I'm lucky to have a good team of horses. It's not everybody that would be able to do it so I'm very happy and privileged. It's what I like doing."

Escape provided for Molloy

Quiet Escape provided trainer Mark Molloy with his biggest winner since rejoining the training ranks earlier this year, when landing the concluding Listed Mucklemeg mares' bumper under Jamie Codd.

Quiet Escape and Jamie Codd stay on strongly to win the Listed bumperCredit: Patrick McCann

It was a fine patient ride by Codd, who dropped anchor at the back of the field and came quite wide in the straight, but he built up plenty of momentum and stayed on strongly inside the final furlong to see off market leaders Hi Stranger and Flemencello.

Molloy had left the training ranks for six years before taking out his licence again earlier in the summer, and said: "We were in the tourism business, people came for residential riding holidays, but that disappeared due to Covid, so I started training again and I love it."

Of Quiet Escape, he added: "She has always been a lovely mare and it is nice to see it come to fruition. She is from the very pacey family of Voler La Vedette and Bolino Star. She will be put away now and will come back next summer."

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