I THINK we were all a bit surprised by Harbinger’s win in the King George on Saturday.
It wasn’t that he won — he was the second favourite. But it was the distance he won by, that he broke the track record and destroyed Workforce, the Derby winner, in the process.
I don’t think the right-handed track suited Workforce. I’ve seen Ryan Moore winning on him on left-handed tracks before and he’s romped up.
But last weekend he looked a little bit cooked — a bit like the England team at the World Cup.
I thought Aiden O’Brien’s horse, Cape Blanco, ran quite well to come second, even though the ground probably didn’t suit him. He moved with a high knee action which suggests he’d have liked a bit more dig in the ground.
Definitely one to keep an eye on if he runs on softer ground. It’s funny, I actually watched the race from a bar in Edinburgh.
A gang of us went up there for my stag do. I had a great weekend.
The lads dressed me up in an outfit (I can’t say what) but it was all good fun — they took it easy on me and we enjoyed the city.
Coming back, I got a call from my agent about a possible ride in the Galway Plate this week.
The horse is called Invisible Man and the first-choice jockey wasn’t available. In the end though the owners decided to go with Barry Geraghty, so that was that.
Being from Turloughmore, I’ve grown up with the Galway Races.
There is always a great buzz around the city because you have other festivals clashing with the races, like the Galway Arts Festival. You’d see all the tourists out at the track and it makes for a great atmosphere.
I started going when I was nine years old and for me it was a great opportunity to see jockeys like Richard Dunwoody and Norman Williamson in action. We wouldn’t see jockeys like that too often because we were too young to go to Cheltenham.
I would like to pick up a few rides there this week, but I don’t think it is going to happen now.
You don’t want to go back there riding a 150-1 shot either, because you know there are going to be fallers and the chances are it will be the longpriced horses.
Tony McCoy broke his wrist there two years ago and it was nearly a career-ending injury.
Punters say Galway is a tough place to get winners and Ruby Walsh said during the week that the course rides two different ways. If the track is firm, it’s a sharp right-hander, but if there is a cut in the turf you can sit back and ride a patient race.
When it’s firm, horses can win from a long way back — which you see happening quite often in Galway — but if it is soft you can stalk the front runners.
What I’d say to punters is that Galway is a real ‘horses for courses’ track and it’s best to stick with the trainers who usually do well there, like Dermot Weld and Willie Mullins.
My own stable seems to be hitting a vein of form at the moment too.
The boss, John Quinn, had two winners at the weekend and we’re out in Market Rasen this Sunday.
The boss does well there, so fingers crossed he can maintain his good record and get a winning run going.
Dougie Costello was speaking to Robert Mulhern
■ Dougie Costello is 27 and originally from Turloughmore in Co. Galway. He rides for Irish trainer John Quinn in Malton, North Yorkshire and is sponsored by Peter Clay of Maxilead Metals. This is week three from eight of the Jockey’s Journal.