Sports
O’Brien heads to Galway October meeting with stable stars Valours Minion and Abarta
LOCAL trainer Val O’Brien is preparing a big assault on Galway’s final race meeting of the year with stable stars Abarta and Valours Minion over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Athenry-based O’Brien, who is enjoying his best campaign in years, is hoping his in-form challengers can put the seal on their respective seasons by each visiting the winners’ enclosure for a remarkable fifth time in 2015.
Abarta, successful in the Colm Quinn BMW Handicap Steeplechase at the Galway September meeting, is due to return to Ballybrit on Sunday for the Renvyle Handicap Chase, with O’Brien hoping the ground rides no worse than yielding.
Since that success, the nine-year-old finished a close-up fourth at Punchestown last week, but O’Brien points out that they didn’t go a great gallop in that race and says Abarta has an ‘outside chance’ of collecting again at Ballybrit.
Even more remarkable has been the Galway trainer’s exploits with the 12-year-old Valours Minion which had never won a race until springing a 10/1 surprise in a handicap chase at Killarney in August of last year.
Seven victories later, Valours Minon is now rated 47lbs higher and showed his current well being when coming up trumps in a competitive handicap chase under Mark Walsh in Navan at the end of last month.
The veteran is being targeted at the Ennis Lifts Handicap Chase on Monday, the feature race of the card, and O’Brien expects that the Galway meeting will also mark the end of Valours Minion’s season.
“As like Abarta, I hope the ground rides on the yielding side or better. He won twice at the track last year which is always an advantage around Galway. He’s rising in the weights but showed he could handle that in Navan the last day.” said O’Brien.
Among Valours Minion’s potential rivals will be the Steve Mahon trained Aranhill Chief which was only half a length behind his Galway rival in that race at Navan after an untidy jump at the final obstacle. Rogue Angel, winner of the Kerry National in Listowel, is the highest rated entry for the race.
The highlight of Sunday’s racing is the Faber Audiovisuals Handicap Hurdle with Mahon’s Kilcolgan based yard set to be represented by Afacat which was successful at the Galway September meeting in a similar contest.
Track manager Michael Moloney reported on Wednesday that the ground is currently good, good to yielding in places. “We’ve had a few showers and the forecast is a bit broken. As it stands, Sunday should be dry with possibly some rain on Monday.
“The track is in great condition and we are in a good position as trainers have been looking forward to some easing in the ground given the dry weather of the past few weeks,” added Moloney.
Admission for both days is €15 with the action kicking off on Sunday at 1.30pm, with Monday’s card commencing at 1.25pm. The Kilkenny Group are sponsoring a Best Dressed competition on Bank Holiday Monday which is also a Students’ Raceday in support of NUIG Volunteer Services Abroad.
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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