Jockey Stephen Gray from Dundalk Co Louth recorded the biggest success of his career after winning the feature race on today’s card, the Arthur Guinness Galway Grade A Handicap Hurdle aboard 20/1 shot Bahrain Storm from the Pat Flynn stable in the colours of Patrick Sweeney.
Flynn who is having a tremendous season stated afterwards, “The horse is in super form. I told Stephen to race him on the inside and everything worked out well.”
“We gave him a canter this morning at six o’clock as he’s a bit stuffy. We checked his heart and he obviously has a good recovery rate because he was absolutely fine and squealing before the race.”
“Stephen is a good young lad and he rides out for me the odd morning. I spoke to Davy [Russell] and he said he’s too much weight so when the weights went up I said we’d let Stephen ride him.”
“It hasn’t sunk in yet but we’ve now won the McDonogh Handicap, the big Amateur Handicap and the hurdle so I’ll have to try and win the Plate now.”
Ruby Walsh who partnered the 15/8 favourite Deutschland said afterwards, “He took too long to get his jumping together. I lost about ½ length at every hurdle. He was jumping his hurdles as though they were fences.”
