McGuinness salutes hat-trick hero Current Option after smooth Ahonoora success

Sunday: Galway

Ado McGuinness came into the week with history beckoning on a couple of fronts. He was out of luck when narrowly failing to win the Colm Quinn Mile on Tuesday for the fourth straight year but was not to be denied when the evergreen Current Option landed the Ahonoora Handicap for the third year in a row to get the trainer off the mark for the meeting.

You could not have been blamed for writing off Current Option at the start of the week. He had shown very little all season and had slipped to a mark of 97, but that suddenly looked very attractive after he had finished a good fourth on Tuesday, and considering he had won the race the past two years off marks of 99 and 105.

It could not have gone smoother and Cian MacRedmond had him in a lovely position through the race. He was thrown a little wide in the straight by his stablemate Spanish Tenor, but once back on an even keel he had too many guns for British raider On A Session.

One has to feel for connections of the runner-up, whose form figures against Current Option in the last three runnings of this race now read 322, but his presence prevented McGuinness from saddling the first four home, as stablemates Laugh A Minute, Sirjack Thomas and Spanish Tenor were third, fourth and fifth.

Ado McGuinness: 'He's been fabulous to have'Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"I might never get a horse like him again, he's been fabulous to have," McGuinness said. "He's a Group 3 and Listed winner, he has taken us everywhere but he just loves this place and he was down to a very nice mark. We'll probably try the big handicap at Leopardstown, a race he has won before as well."

Asked how he gets the horse to come back to peak every year for this race, he added: "We know he likes Galway. Some of my horses were a bit out of form around June but they have come back and we always prime this fellow for here, and it has worked every year.

"It's the same routine every year, we just try to manage him, tip away with him and it works."

Nathaniel rounds off the week for Martin

After 22 unsuccessful efforts third reserve Nathaniel's Dream finally came good in the 3m handicap hurdle to round off a terrific week for Galway Hurdle-winning trainer Tony Martin.

The only reserve to get in, he was given a fine ride by Sean O'Keeffe, who made his challenge on the fresher outside ground and just managed to hold off favourite Perceval Legallois by a head.

Tony Martin (left): Nathaniel's Dream capped a fine week for the trainerCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Martin said: "He's a nervous horse and a bit of a worrier, that's why he has the hood on going to the start to make him relax, but touch wood it has all come right now. It's been a long time coming.

"It's great for his owner Eric Carson. He lost his wife Elizabeth a few years back. He's a lovely man, one of the most loyal I've ever had anything to do with, and he really deserves this."

For JP McManus, owner of the runner-up, it is the first time he has drawn a blank at the festival since 2008.

Crowd up

It was family day at Galway and the weather was kind after the near washouts of Friday and Saturday. It was also great to see so many young people racing. The crowd was up for the first time all week, and the attendance of 13,240 was well above the 2019 figure of 9,988.

The total for the week was 116,720, a drop of 12,338 on the 2019 aggregate.

Townend set for x-rays

Paul Townend is set to undergo x-rays on a potential thumb injury after being unseated at the first fence by Agusta Gold in the Eileen Kelly Memorial Chase.

Speaking after winning the final race of the meeting with No Risk No Fun, Willie Mullins said: "It looks like he might have dislocated his thumb. He’s going to get it x-rayed and scanned on Tuesday morning.

"We are just holding our breath that he’ll recover quickly and it might be just badly bruised.”

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