Cuan in fine form ahead of Galway double bid Paul Nolan reports Cuan Na Grai to be in fine shape as the 2006 Galway Hurdle winner bids to emulate Ansar and also land the big handicap chase at the meeting, the www.thetote.com Galway Plate. Ansar was trained by Dermot Weld to make history at the Ballybrit course by taking the Plate in 2004 and 2005 after success in the Hurdle in 2001. While Nolan expects Cuan Na Grai to put up a bold show, he is concerned the race might come too soon as the nine-year-old was in action on Sunday when second to 2009 Galway Hurdle scorer Bahrain Storm at Tipperary. "He's in good form and he's come out of his race grand," said the County Wexford trainer. "It might come a little bit soon, but we're hoping he'll be OK and hopefully he'll run well. "He likes Galway, I don't think the trip will inconvenience him and we'd like to think he'd give the owners a good run for their money." The Weld-trained Majestic Concorde is 6-1 favourite with William Hill, with Cuan Na Grai a 10-1 chance, after a total of 65 horses stood their ground at the latest forfeit stage for Wednesday's feature. "Majestic Concorde and Themoonandsixpence have been the two best backed horses in the race," said William Hill spokesman Tony Kenny. "However, both seem to perform better on a sound surface, and with the ground currently soft, soft to heavy in places we could see a real shake-up in the market if the ground remains the same or gets worse." Fancied British-trained possibles include Five Dream, from the Paul Nicholls, who sent out Oslot to take this prize two years ago, and Grand Slam Hero. The latter, trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, has been handed a 7lb penalty for his victory in the Summer Plate at Market Rasen on Saturday.
