Aranhill Chief (left) winning at Galway two years ago© Photo Healy Racing
Stephen Mahon is hoping the rain stays away from Galway as Aranhill Chief prepares to return to the track for another shot at the Guinness Galway Blazers Handicap Chase.
The extended two-mile-six-furlong prize is the feature event on day five of the Festival and Aranhill Chief was on the mark two years ago when he claimed the 30,000 euro event for Mahon.
The nine-year-old saw off Usuel Smurfer by a head that day but he failed to sparkle in his defence of the title last year, finishing well behind subsequent Irish National hero Rogue Angel.
Aranhill Chief has scored just twice since his Blazers win, claiming the Connacht National at Roscommon in both 2015 and this term and while he was only fourth at Limerick last time, Mahon is hoping Galway can be a happy hunting ground once again.
"We're keeping our fingers crossed the rain stays away, as the better the ground is, the better he will be," said Mahon
"The horse that beat us last time at Limerick (The King Of Brega) didn't run great on Wednesday, but if you look at his form he can be a bit in and out.
"I wasn't disappointed with his Limerick run as I wasn't too hard on him and maybe left him a bit short between Roscommon and that race. He was there to win if he could, but he just couldn't that day.
"The run should have put him spot-on for this, although his higher mark is obviously not ideal.
"He does handle Galway, though, he likes the undulations. There's plenty of horses that don't handle it, so I'd say course form is worth a couple of pounds.
"We just hope the rain stays away now."
Aranhill Chief heads the handicap in a race that features the likes of Dermot Weld's Waaheb, the Henry de Bromhead-trained On Fiddlers Green and James Mangan's Kilcrea.
One horse coming into the race on the back of a win is the Gavin Cromwell-trained As De Pique.
The 11-year-old made a victorious return from a 10-month absence when winning a Wexford chase last month, repeating his victory of 2015 in the extended three-mile-one-furlong heat.
He had four more runs last term before minor issues intervened, but Cromwell revealed a crack at the Blazers has been a long-term aim.
He said: "It was a great run last time after such a long time off the track.
"He had a couple of minor problems so we just gave him a long break and it was great to win with him on his first run back.
"We actually had him in this race last year and after he won the same Wexford race as this year, we thought he would get in.
"He didn't make the cut for the Blazers, though, so you could say this has been the target for a year now.
"He won off 111 at Wexford and he's off 118 now which is a career high mark, but we hope he'll run a good race and it's nice to have a horse like him in the yard."
