PAT HEALY: This week Pat reacts to Snowfall’s win at The Curragh and shares his excitement at the prospect of her facing the likes of Love and Adayar.
Snowfall
It was really exciting to see Snowfall strut her stuff in the Irish Oaks. If her Oaks win at Epsom didn’t prove her to be a superb filly, surely her win on Saturday did! She just seems to get better and better and to be honest, I’m not sure Aidan [O’Brien] knows how good she is. You’ve to think he’ll be targeting races like the Arc and Breeders’ Cup with her and based on what we’ve seen so far, she’s going to be a very tough nut to crack, especially with the three-year-old weight allowance.
I thought her win was another example of what a brilliant Flat season we are having. There are so many good horses at the moment, pretty much all of whom seem to be at the top of their games and sooner rather than later, they are all going to have to take each other on. I’m not quite sure where that will be, but races like the Irish Champion Stakes and the Arc look more than likely. The prospect of the likes of Love, Snowfall, Tarnawa, Adayar, Hurricane Lane and Poetic Flare all facing off is a mouth-watering proposition and I like many can’t wait for it.
Finally, I just wanted to make a small point on the new Curragh. I must admit it’s a brilliant racecourse now and provides a real amphitheatre for spectators. However, I think they are missing a trick when horses return to the parade ring. They’ve designed it so they come up the left-hand side, but from my perspective it would work better if they come up the other side. They’d be much closer to the patrons that way and I think it would create an even better atmosphere.
Galway
I’m looking forward to the Galway Festival and wish them the all the best with organising it. It’s a big job to get a seven-day meeting on and hopefully it goes smoothly without any hiccups. The Plate and Hurdle are two of the summer highlights of the Irish calendar and both often produce races we’re talking about for years to come.
