'I wouldn’t be in a rush to swap Murcia for anything' - Paul Townend looks ahead to Galway Plate

Paul Townend is positive that he will be involved in the finish in today's Galway Hurdle aboard tough mare Murcia -FR/749230" target="_blank" style="color: blue;">Murcia. Here's what he had to say to Betway on his chances.

Galway Hurdle (16:30)

You can see why El Cairos is at the head of the market for this because he looked to have the world at his feet around Christmas time, and there's a chance he's just better than his mark of 143.

I suppose the worry when you're looking at him would be: does he have the toughness for this because these races are much rougher and tougher than those graded novice hurdles.

Considering she's still only a five-year-old, Murcia has plenty of experience in big handicaps like this, so I'm delighted to be on her here.

She's a Grade 1 winner with a lovely weight on her back, and I'll be honest, I was disappointed to get beaten on her at Killarney the last day. I thought she had the race won, but she just got mugged late on, and I'm hoping she can make amends here.

Good ground and a stiff two miles is right up her alley, and although she'll need a bit of luck in running, she's coming here in great form. You could make a case for most of them to be honest, but I wouldn't be in a rush to swap Murcia for anything, and hopefully we'll be bang in contention jumping the last.