Galway Festival - day three

Galway´s festival continues today and the main feature is the most valuable race of the meeting, the Galway Plate, a handicap chase over 2 3/4 miles at 16.40 CET with a maximum field of 22 runners. The 12yo Ansar (Dermot Weld/ Denis O´Regan) is a standing dish here, having won the race twice and been placed twice as well. Weld is enjoying a fantastic week as usual, but it would certainly be the crowning glory if this veteran could take the race for the third time. Top British trainer Paul Nicholls supplies two of the main dangers in top-weight Hoo La Baloo (Nick Scholfield) and the heavily-backed ante-post favourite Oslot (Ruby Walsh). Of the lightweights, Tony Martin´s ex-German Green Mile (Robby Colgan) makes most appeal. However Ansar fares, Dermot Weld, who has already won 6 races at the meeting, can score a double in the two maiden races on the flat, with Lady Alicia (M.M.O´Connor) in the amateur´s race over 1 1/2 miles at 18.00, and Designated Lady (Pat Smullen) over an extended mile at 19.05.