8:40 Galway Tips

Won a big field handicap here last time. Runs under a penalty here but is unlikely to stop the winning run from continuing.

Empress Alma is a 4-year-old filly trained by Gavin Cromwell. She is a filly who knows how to win. She won three handicaps last year. Below par this term, but did come to hand last July. She should be race fit and is turned out quickly, having finished 5/18 at Galway just two days ago: 'Towards rear, headway 2f out, kept on well inside final furlong, not reach leaders,' beaten only 5 lengths. Jockey Gary Carroll will be chomping at the bit, having been collared close home in the 19:40 on William F. Browne.

Preparations is one from the tracker from the Slattery yard. It was held up but fared pretty well in the context of the race and so looks a tad overpriced here.

Some nice prices in this race as there are a few questions over the favorite. Taking J Martin to have this horse ready after a couple of back-to-back wins. They can make it a hat trick here.

Lagoon Nebula has run some good races at Chester recently. Will get the trip, and the going looks like it will be no problem. Looks a little underrated.

Looks a big price here, and I'm taking it each way with 5 places available. Gordon Elliott trained, and although the ground won't be super beneficial, it can still run a big race here.

Beautiful Chaos has only won one of her 31 starts but placed on 9 occasions, showing she is worth EW consideration. She had been placed in two of her last three starts on the flat last year before switching to hurdles without much success. However, back on the flat at Down Royal, she was second, beaten just a head in an apprentice handicap. Although raised 3 lbs, her apprentice jockey claims that back, and she looks like a good EW bet with 5 places on offer.

Steps In The Sands is on a hat-trick of wins here tonight. It can certainly be involved in the finish if getting the luck in running.

The model I run suggests an upset from Spanish John. This result has been driven by Spanish John having a comparably high RPR to the other runners but an official ranking which is joint lowest. This subsequently means he steps out carrying the joint lowest weight over the 1m 6f distance. High stall draw isn't helpful, but when the race is bordering on 2m, it should be negligible. Spanish John is currently the third reserve, so might not even run.