Sports
Harringtons’ hit the jackpot with well supported Modem
A big gamble was landed when bottom weight Modem gave the mother and daughter combination of Jessica and Kate Harrington the perfect start to the week-long Galway summer festival at Ballybrit on Monday evening.
Available at 12/1 in the morning and backed from sevens into 5/1 second favourite on course, the five-year-old justified that strong support when gaining a hard fought victory in the €80,000 Connacht Hotel Amateur Handicap
Kate Harrington always had Modem close to the pace and launched her challenge around the final bend after Wood Breizh and Katie Walsh had kicked for home. The combination hit the front just inside the final furlong and had enough in reserve to hold off the challenges of Awesome Star and well backed favourite Ted Veale, which was bidding to give Tony Martin a third consecutive win in the race.
Though there was a sting in the tail for the winning rider when she picked up a 10-day whip ban for not giving her mount sufficient time to recover, it couldn’t deflate Harrington’s joy at landing this big prize for amateur riders.
“I can’t believe I’ve won. I’m nearly speechless. It was the plan to jump out and get a position near the rail and it all went according to plan. As soon as I pushed the button he went. Modem wasn’t doing a tap in front and I had to keep him up to his job,” she added.
The first evening of the Galway festival tends to be a rewarding one for Ballybrit specialist Dermot Weld and he didn’t disappoint the yard’s followers with a short-priced double which was initiated by True Solitaire in the Claregalway Hotel Maiden.
The value of racecourse experience was underlined as the well backed debutant Unicorn from the Aidan O’Brien stable ran very green and was never a threat to True Solitaire, which broke well and had four and a lengths to spare at the line from rank outsider The Moore Factor.
Weld and champion jockey Pat Smullen completed the double when 9/4 market leader Harasava, following up his win in Sligo last month, displayed plenty of grit in battling back to get the better of a titanic tussle with Torcedor in the Colm Quinn BMW Handicap.
On drying ground, local jockey Leigh Roche pulled off the biggest surprise on the card when 16/1 chance Romiac, wearing blinkers for the first time, overcame a wide draw to land the Clayton Hotel Handicap with almost ridicoulus ease from off the pace.
The irony of Roche’s win was that he was foiling a significant punt on Tadaany, representing the Tuam jockey’s retaining Weld stable. “We took our time out wide, but the blinkers and step up in trip made all the difference, It’s great to have a Galway winner so early in the week.” said Roche.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GALWAY United need to guard against any kind of complacency when they make the short hop down the M18 this Friday to take on Treaty United at the Markets Field (7.45pm).
The game is a meeting of the two form teams in the division, and as in previous meetings between the sides, will have an additional edge given the number of former United players in the home side’s ranks, and the pair of Limerick lads playing for United.
There might have been just the eight meetings between the sides since Treaty became the latest iteration to represent Limerick in the League of Ireland in 2021, and while United have yet to lose to the men in the candy-cane strips, there has never been more than a goal in four of their eight wins.
The most recent of those was back in February, when Rob Slevin scored the only goal of the game in Eamonn Deacy Park after a tough battle against a side who made a slow start to the season, before finally finding their groove in the past month.
Having taken just three points from their first six games before finally getting a win against Longford Town, they reverted to type with just one point from their next three games, but are now on a run of four wins on the spin, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one.
Their most recent win was a 3-0 victory away to Longford Town last Saturday, and they could have won by double that against the only side to have beaten United this season. That in itself is a warning.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Soccer Wrap with Mike Rafferty
While the Salthill Devon men’s team might have lost their grip on the Connacht Junior Cup that they held for two seasons, the club’s women’s side have picked up the mantle and on Sunday last in Headford were crowned provincial champions with a 4-3 win over Manulla.
Following midweek wins for Maree/Oranmore and Knocknacarra, the stage is now almost set for the semi-finals of the Michael Byrne Cup with Salthill Devon meeting St Bernard’s on Sunday in an outstanding quarter-final, with the winners advancing to a semi-final against Maree/Oranmore, while Colga will face Knocknacarra in the other last four contest.
Just one league issue remains to be decided, with the Championship runners-up position up for grabs, as Dynamo Blues have to win their two remaining games in order to overtake Colemanstown United who have finished their programme.
WOMEN’S CONNACHT CUP FINAL
Salthill Devon 4
Manulla 3
Ellerose O’Flaherty scored twice as Salthill Devon were crowned provincial champions with a win over a Mayo side who were losing in the final for the second year in succession.
Backboned by a number of players who previously had League of Ireland experience with Galway WFC, Devon suffered an early set back when Jess Nolan put Manulla ahead, before O’Flaherty levelled matters with a cracking finish on 20 minutes, which was quickly followed by a long-range free-kick from Aoife Walsh.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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