'Dread and Excitement' - Jessie Harrington on this year's Galway Festival

Jessica Harrington has enjoyed tremendous success at the Galway Festival, and she can't speak highly enough of the Ballybrit team, insisting they "do the best job ever" when it comes to keeping the track in prime condition throughout the week-long meeting.

Harrington returns this year with a top-quality team headed by Ashdale Bob in the Galway Plate. See Galway odds with BoyleSports and claim a host of free bets ahead of the meeting.

We've got Galway coming up. You've had 35 festival winners there - what makes this festival so special for you and your team?

We’ve just had great luck there. I've won the Galway Hurdle, I've been placed in it, I've won the QR, my daughter Kate winning the QR race there on the Monday night. It's probably as good a night as we've ever had up there and we've had some very good nights up there. It's just fun and people love going there. Syndicates also absolutely love having a runner there.

And it's just so unique, isn't it? I mean, there used to be Tralee, didn't there? But there's nothing like it now, is there?

There isn't, you know, the course is unique. There isn't another racecourse like it, especially the chase course with the in and outs of the second last and the last fences and then the long climb up the hill.

We're a couple of weeks out from the Festival now. How’s the team shaping up?

The early closing races closed today. So I have a few entries in those handicaps, including the Galway plate. We've got various horses in the big handicaps, the mile handicap, the seven furlong handicap, for example. We have two horses that ran very well there last year; Norwalk Havoc, he's back in the mile after being just beaten in it last year, and Hurricane Ivor in the seven furlong, who was also only just beaten in it last year.

And how big a team do you think you'll have?

It's hard to know; it depends on the ground. If we get a bit of dig in the ground we could have plenty of runners there. Horses like Riviera Queen, who is going to go for the two-mile amateur race; she needs soft ground. There are a few horses there who do and I’m hoping it’s soft by the time of the festival. They've had a lot of rain and it's yielding ground at the moment. It just depends on whether we get another heat wave or not!

We'll have three or four horses probably running every day. We've got horses for the low grade handicaps, we've got a couple of two-year-olds that'll go there. I like running two-year-olds there. It gives them a great education. I’ll have a better idea of how many runners we’ll have about a week beforehand.

How’s Ashdale Bob and is he going to the festival?

He’ll run in the Galway Plate. He won round there last year in the Guinness Open Gate Brewery Chase there last year, so he's won round the course and, while it's a competitive handicap, he's got a bit of class about him.

And do you feel extra pressure or excitement going into the festival each year?

Dread and excitement! It was like someone always liked being pregnant. Every time you finish it you'll say you'll never go back there again and the following year there you are again doing the same thing!

Has your approach changed as you've sort of migrated more to the Flat?

There's plenty of flat races up there and I've got a couple of jumpers that'll probably run in the low-grade handicaps up there, because it's a great thing about Galway; it's not all about good racing. Every class of horse has a chance to run up there. They cater for everyone; there are good races, but you also have low-grade handicaps, maidens and everything.

How important is the festival for your owners?

Some owners love it, some owners hate it. The love-hate relationship always goes on. Owners that have been lucky up there love it. Owners that are unlucky up there hate it!

And are there any trends or changes in the festival? Has it stayed pretty constant or any changes you'd like to see?

Not really; they do a great job up there. In fact, they do the best job ever. It's amazing how they can race for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It’s a seven-day meeting! And on a small bit of ground, which they look after very well.

Galway is known for its unique atmosphere and its unique challenges. How do you prepare your horses for the demands of the festival?

Same as ever. Nothing special. You can't really replicate it.

Green Impact and Hotazhell are down for King George Day at Ascot. Are they due to run? Green Impact is entered for the King George but it depends. I don't know where he's going yet. He may go to America for the Saratoga Invitational.

Hotazhell has an entry in the same race, but also in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, but again it depends if it rains. Everything is up in the air and open at the moment. It depends what the weather forecast is.