Galway Festival 2026 Results: Galway Plate, Galway Hurdle & Every Day's Winners

Monday 27 July: Comfort Zone lands the opening feature

The festival opened on Monday evening with the Connacht Hotel (Q.R.) Handicap, the €110,000 Premier Handicap for amateur riders over about two miles that is widely called Ireland's "amateur Derby". Twenty went to post. Comfort Zone, sent off at 18/1, rallied down the centre of the track inside the final half-furlong to win by three-quarters of a length from Holy See (40/1), with Teed Up (14/1) third and Eagle Fang (13/2) fourth.

The winner is a seven-year-old carrying the colours of J.P. McManus, trained by Joseph O'Brien and ridden by Derek O'Connor. O'Brien suggested afterwards that the horse could turn out again before the week is over.

O'Brien ended the night with a double. Dancing Saxon took the Clayton Hotel Galway Handicap at 13/8 under Dylan Browne McMonagle, the second of the evening's two winning favourites. The other was Witches Familiar, who opened the card for Willie Mullins and Paul Townend at the same price in the Galmont Hotel & The Galway Bay Hotel Novice Hurdle.

The biggest price of the night belonged to Timurshah, a 12/1 winner of the EASYFIX Iggy Daly Handicap Hurdle for Aidan Melia and Conor Smithers in a field of twenty. The ground was described as good on the hurdle course and yielding on the flat track.

Monday 27 July winners

Race	Winner	SP	Jockey / Trainer
Galmont Hotel & Galway Bay Hotel Novice Hurdle	Witches Familiar	13/8	Paul Townend / W P Mullins
EASYFIX Iggy Daly Handicap Hurdle	Timurshah	12/1	Conor Smithers / Aidan Melia
Eventus Irish EBF (C & G) Maiden	Trean	11/4	Billy Lee / P Twomey
Connacht Hotel (Q.R.) Handicap	Comfort Zone	18/1	Mr D O'Connor / J P O'Brien
Clayton Hotel Galway Handicap	Dancing Saxon	13/8	Dylan Browne McMonagle / J P O'Brien
Gra Chocolates Handicap	Madbadanddangerous	11/2	Colin Keane / N Meade
Ray Dooley Monami Construction Flat Race	Teofil	7/2	Mr J L Gleeson / J S Bolger

Favourite backers had a reasonable start to the week, with two winning jollies from seven, though the feature went the way of the outsiders again. For the shape of the rest of the week, see our Galway Festival guide.

Tuesday 28 July: Orandi lands the Mile at 16/1 and the outsiders keep winning

Tuesday's feature, the Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap, went the way of the market's outsiders for the second night running. Orandi, a 16/1 chance for Tony Martin and Robbie Colgan, came clear of the seventeen-runner field to beat Pierre Royal (7/2) by a length and three-quarters, with Jagged Edge (15/2) third. Monday's big handicap had gone to an 18/1 shot. Two nights, two features, and the two shortest prices beaten both times.

The first black type of the week came earlier on the card. Lizzie Twigg took the Listed Colm Quinn BMW Novice Hurdle at 5/2 for Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy, beating Fastnet Crystal by two and a half lengths in a field of eight over two miles.

The twenty-runner handicap chase produced another double-figure price, Tell Us This at 12/1 for Andrew McNamara and Conor Stone-Walsh, and the card closed with Lady Arwen at 12/1 for Charles O'Dwyer and Billy Lee.

Favourite backers found it hard going again. Only two of the eight winners went off market leader: Eddie G (7/2) for Andrew McGuinness and Dylan Browne McMonagle, and Sindagan (9/4) for Johnny Murtagh and Ben Coen. The ground stayed good on the jumps track and yielding on the Flat course.

Tuesday 28 July winners

Race	Winner	SP	Jockey / Trainer
Colm Quinn BMW Novice Hurdle (Listed)	Lizzie Twigg	5/2	Jack Kennedy / G Elliott
Latin Quarter Beginners Chase	Frankie John	15/8	Daniel King / D Hogan
Colm Quinn BMW Handicap Chase	Tell Us This	12/1	Conor Stone-Walsh / A McNamara
Colm Quinn BMW Irish EBF Fillies Maiden	Samnina	4/1	Shane Foley / Mrs J Harrington
Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap (Premier Handicap)	Orandi	16/1	Robbie Colgan / A J Martin
caulfieldindustrial.com Handicap	Eddie G	7/2	Dylan Browne McMonagle / A McGuinness
Caulfield Industrial Irish EBF Maiden	Sindagan	9/4	Ben Coen / J P Murtagh
Caulfield Industrial Handicap	Lady Arwen	12/1	Billy Lee / C O'Dwyer

Wednesday brings the Galway Plate. For the betting angles into the rest of the week, see our Galway betting guide.

Wednesday 29 July: King Alexander wins the Plate at 20/1 and the outsiders take a third day

The Tote Galway Plate produced the biggest-priced finish of the week so far. King Alexander, a 20/1 chance trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Daniel King, held on by half a length from Conyers Hill (25/1), with Gorgeous Tom (25/1) third. Twenty-two went to post on good ground. The first three home were all double-figure prices.

That makes three days and three big handicaps where the market has been beaten. Monday's Connacht Hotel went to an 18/1 shot, Tuesday's Colm Quinn BMW Mile to a 16/1 chance, and now the Plate to a 20/1. Anyone backing the head of the market at Ballybrit this week has had a hard time of it: only three of Wednesday's seven winners went off favourite.

The Plate completed a treble on the card for Willie Mullins. He had already taken the opening maiden hurdle with Mr Hollywood (2/1 favourite, Brian Hayes) and the mares' maiden with Venusienne (11/1, Harry Cobden). His nephew Emmet Mullins closed the evening separately, taking the finale with Cock And Bull (7/2 favourite) under Sam Coen.

The ground eased as the night went on, given as good for the jumping races and yielding, yielding to soft in places, for the later Flat contests. The widest winning margin of the night came in the amateur riders' maiden, where the 7/4 favourite Abbotsford scored by seven and a half lengths for Dermot Weld.

Wednesday 29 July winners

Race	Winner	SP	Jockey / Trainer
Tote Guaranteed 50K Placepot Maiden Hurdle	Mr Hollywood	2/1	Brian Hayes / W P Mullins
Tote.ie Money-Back 2nd Every Race Handicap Hurdle	Mighty Berkshire	15/2	Mr D L Queally / D Queally
Tote Irish EBF Mares Maiden	Venusienne	11/1	H Cobden / W P Mullins
Tote Galway Plate (Grade 3 Handicap Chase)	King Alexander	20/1	Daniel King / W P Mullins
Visit Tote26 On Course Today (Q.R.) Maiden	Abbotsford	7/4	Mr F Maguire / D K Weld
Tote Every Day Is A Money-Back Day Handicap	Minella Rockett	10/1	J M Sheridan / J Nallen
Bet With Tote.ie On Racing & Sports Handicap	Cock And Bull	7/2	Sam Coen / E Mullins

Thursday brings the Galway Hurdle. For the race's history and its roll of honour, see our Galway Plate guide.

Thursday 30 July: Dan King wins the Galway Hurdle and makes history

Putapoundinthejar landed the Guinness Galway Hurdle at 10/1 for Tony Martin and Dan King, and in doing so made King the first jockey in 42 years to complete the Galway Plate and Galway Hurdle double in the same week. He had taken the Plate on King Alexander twenty-four hours earlier. The last rider to manage it was Joe Byrne in 1984, on Master Player and Tara Lee.

"It's dream stuff, really," King said afterwards. "To get two of the biggest pots of the week, it's class."

Twenty went to post for the two-mile Grade 3 on good ground. Thisistheway (20/1) finished second, Gameball (14/1) third and Ragmans Corner (20/1) fourth. The first four home were all at double-figure prices, and that is the fourth day running that Ballybrit's feature has gone to one: Monday's Connacht Hotel at 18/1, Tuesday's Mile at 16/1, Wednesday's Plate at 20/1, and now the Hurdle at 10/1.

Tony Martin ends the day with two of the week's biggest handicaps, having also taken Tuesday's Colm Quinn BMW Mile with Orandi at 16/1.

The rest of the card went the way of shorter prices. Henry de Bromhead's Midnight Jet (6/5) took the novice hurdle, Joseph O'Brien's Seven Nation Army (13/8) the opening nursery, and Patrick Mullins closed the evening in the bumper on Run Ted Run (5/4) for his father Willie. The ground was mixed across the two tracks, good over jumps and yielding to soft on the Flat.

Thursday 30 July winners

Race	Winner	SP	Jockey / Trainer
Guinness Irish EBF Nursery Handicap	Seven Nation Army	13/8	J M Sheridan / J P O'Brien
Arthur Guinness Irish EBF Corrib Fillies Stakes (Listed)	Pivotal Attack	3/1	Gary Carroll / J G Murphy
Guinness Open Gate Brewery Novice Chase (Grade 3)	Shadow Paddy	5/2	Gary Noonan / E McCarthy
Guinness Novice Hurdle	Midnight Jet	6/5	Darragh O'Keeffe / H De Bromhead
Guinness Galway Hurdle Handicap (Grade 3)	Putapoundinthejar	10/1	Daniel King / A J Martin
Rockshore Refreshingly Irish Handicap	Cala Bonita	8/1	Leigh Roche / M J Smith
Guinness 0.0 Handicap	Faro Island	10/1	Billy Lee / A Oliver
Guinness Time Flat Race	Run Ted Run	5/4	Mr P W Mullins / W P Mullins

Three days of the festival remain. For the two great handicaps and how the week works, see our Galway Festival guide.

Friday 31 July: Kings Hill lands the Blazers and the favourites strike back

Kings Hill won the Guinness Galway Blazers Handicap Chase, the €80,000 consolation for horses that missed the cut for the Plate, at 5/1 favourite for J J Slevin and trainer Paul Gilligan. In blinkers for the first time, he hit the front approaching the second-last fence and won by three and three-quarter lengths from the 33/1 shot A Penny A Hundred.

"On home soil, it's lovely to win here," Gilligan said. "This race has been good to us, it's the third time we have won it."

The richest race on the card was the €110,000 Guinness Handicap, and that went to the three-year-old Thread Of Gold at 3/1 favourite, Billy Lee riding for Willie Mullins. He came through a wall of horses to win by a length and three-quarters. "He's improving hugely and the step up in trip was fantastic for him," Mullins said. "When you look at the head on you'd say he had no chance coming through that wall of horses, but Billy said he had so much horse underneath him he was just waiting for an opening."

After four days in which every feature went to a double-figure price, the market got Friday right. Five of the eight winners went off favourite, among them Mullins's Vicar Street (13/8) in the beginners' chase under Harry Cobden and Emmet Mullins's Vantage Code (15/8). The longest-priced winner of the evening was Counting Coup at 11/1. The ground was good, good to yielding in places over jumps, and yielding to soft on the Flat.

Friday 31 July winners

Race	Winner	SP	Jockey / Trainer
James's Gate Irish EBF Median Auction Maiden	Joga Bonito	11/4	Billy Lee / P Twomey
Guinness Beginners Chase	Vicar Street	13/8	H Cobden / W P Mullins
Guinness Galway Blazers Handicap Chase	Kings Hill	5/1	J J Slevin / P J Gilligan
Guinness Handicap (Premier Handicap)	Thread Of Gold	3/1	Billy Lee / W P Mullins
Guinness Irish EBF Fillies Maiden	Stellar Moment	5/1	Ronan Whelan / John O'Donoghue
Arthur Guinness Handicap	Jp's Express	10/3	Wesley Joyce / M Mulvany
Hop House 13 Handicap	Vantage Code	15/8	Ben Coen / E Mullins
Rockshore Refreshingly Irish Race	Counting Coup	11/1	Leigh Roche / Maurice Ahern

Saturday and Sunday close the week. For the two great handicaps and how the meeting works, see our Galway Festival guide.

Saturday 1 August: Fiveonefive comes from last to first in the Tribes

Fiveonefive won the BoyleSports Galway Tribes Handicap Hurdle at 10/1 under Jack Kennedy, and gave trainer Cian Collins his first festival winner. Kennedy settled the eight-year-old at the back of a field of twenty, angled him out as they straightened for home and got there inside the final hundred yards, winning by half a length from Metamorpheus (12/1).

"It was a masterclass from Jack," Collins said. "Only for him, I don't think he'd have won."

The longest-priced winner of the afternoon came in the Listed BoyleSports Handicap Hurdle, where Grann's Boy (18/1) beat Pinot Gris by six lengths for Sean Flanagan and trainer Harry Rogers, who had won the same race twenty-eight years earlier. "He was in good shape coming here and it worked out well," Rogers said. "This is great to come back and win here again."

Willie Mullins reached eight winners for the week when Columbus (10/11 favourite) took the opening maiden hurdle by seven and a half lengths, with York's Ebor mentioned afterwards as a possible next target. The biggest price of the day was Faoladh at 22/1 in the Ardilaun Hotel Handicap. The ground was good to yielding over hurdles and yielding on the Flat.

Saturday 1 August winners

Race	Winner	SP	Jockey / Trainer
BoyleSports Best Odds Guaranteed Maiden Hurdle	Columbus	10/11	Paul Townend / W P Mullins
BoyleSports Galway Tribes Handicap Hurdle	Fiveonefive	10/1	Jack Kennedy / C Collins
BoyleSports Handicap Hurdle (Listed)	Grann's Boy	18/1	Sean Flanagan / H Rogers
Electric Galway Irish EBF Mares Flat Race	Sarahs Lawn	6/1	Mr D L Queally / D Queally
Whiriskey Refrigeration Irish EBF Maiden	Victory Speech	11/10	Wayne Lordan / A P O'Brien
Bathshack Maiden	Rest Your Mind	15/2	Billy Lee / Gerard O'Leary
Ardilaun Hotel Handicap	Faoladh	22/1	Adam Browne-Souza / A Slattery
McDonogh Capital Investments Handicap	Sir Jeremy	11/1	Paddy Harnett / N Meade

Sunday's Family Day closes the festival. For the two great handicaps and how the meeting works, see our Galway Festival guide.

Sunday 2 August: Dunum lands the Ahonoora as Family Day closes the festival

Dunum won the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Ahonoora Handicap, the Premier Handicap over seven furlongs that traditionally closes Family Day, at 11/1 under Billy Lee for trainer Natalia Lupini.

Willie Mullins had two more winners to add to his festival tally: Caher Roes Den (9/2) took the Kenny Galway Peugeot Handicap Hurdle under Danny Mullins, and Blood Destiny (5/1) landed the Lord Hemphill Memorial Handicap Chase under Paul Townend. The closing Pro/Am Flat race went the way of amateur rider Mr A P Ryan on Caislean Gear (13/2), just holding off Mullins's own Linford (1/5 favourite) under his son Mr P W Mullins. The ground was good, good to yielding in places over hurdles and chases, and yielding on the Flat.

Sunday 2 August winners

Race	Winner	SP	Jockey / Trainer
Adare Manor Opportunity Handicap Hurdle	Timurshah	7/2	Conor Smithers / Aidan Melia
Kenny Galway Peugeot Handicap Hurdle	Caher Roes Den	9/2	Danny Mullins / W P Mullins
Kinlay Hostel Handicap Chase	Jukebox Johnny	9/2	Darragh O'Keeffe / H De Bromhead
Lord Hemphill Memorial Handicap Chase	Blood Destiny	5/1	Paul Townend / W P Mullins
Irish Stallion Farms EBF Ahonoora Handicap (Premier Handicap)	Dunum	11/1	Billy Lee / N Lupini
Irish EBF Auction Series Maiden	Oristown Boy	15/2	Rory Mulligan / Joseph Murray
Village Salthill Handicap	Blue Blue Moon	14/1	Patrick McGettigan / J P Murtagh
Fr. Breen Memorial (Pro/Am) Flat Race	Caislean Gear	13/2	Mr A P Ryan / A Slattery

That closes the 2026 Galway Races Summer Festival. For the pre-festival picture and how the week's two great handicaps played out, see our Galway Festival guide.