The penultimate day of this year's Galway Festival takes place on Saturday and Phill Anderson from the Racing Post has three selections on the card.
2.30 Galway
Whisky Sour @ 20/1
1.5pt each-way
5.20 Galway
Zahee @ 12/1
1pt each-way
4.15 Galway
Pandora Lovegood @ 5/1
1pt win
Step up in trip could be just the tonic for Whisky Sour
The valuable handicap hurdle (race 2) is the feature race on day six of the Galway Festival and it's another wide-open puzzle to solve.
Willie Mullins has dominated this race in recent times, winning six of the last nine renewals and he saddles four runners in this year's contest in an attempt to boost that excellent strike-rate.
The unexposed La Prima Donna is the first string and she showed this sort of handicap mark was workable when runner-up in a valuable Fairyhouse handicap in April; she then went on to win her maiden hurdle with any amount in hand.
However, at what will be a bigger price, stablemate Whisky Sour may be worth risking. He ran okay here on the Flat earlier in the week but it's his penultimate outing that is the key piece of form.
The nine-year-old produced a career best when beating a small, but talented field at Cork earlier this month, and he shaped like there could be even more to come at this sort of trip.
This is his first try over further than 2m4f and given that the handicapper has leniently left him on the same mark for his Cork win, he could be very well treated if he does find any improvement for the greater stamina test.
The yard form is another factor in his favour - running at a near 30% strike-rate in recent weeks, which includes several winners at this meeting already - and he could be overpriced given that he's down the order on jockey bookings.
More to come from an in-form Zahee
The penultimate race on the card is another competitive handicap, this time on the Flat, and Zahee arrives in the form of his life after another narrow defeat last time out at Down Royal.
He only went down by half a length that day on his first try over further than one mile, and he shaped like this even longer trip might be within his compass.
Decent ground is key to him on turf and while there is rain in the forecast for Saturday, the turn in the weather is currently set for when after racing finishes. If he does improve for a longer trip and the ground still has good in the going description, he ought to give a good account from his handy draw in stall three.
Improving filly can add to her tally
Pandora Lovegood has been improving with every start, bolting up in a maiden at Roscommon when last seen in June, and she must have solid claims of going in again in the nursery on the card (race 5).
She dominated her rivals last time and it's easy to see her repeating those tactics in a small field here.
The form of that race has received a boost too, with the sixth coming out and winning a good looking maiden at Leopardstown since, and with the potential for this filly to continue on her upward curve, she is taken to make it two wins from four starts.
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