Four JP McManus horses to watch from Galway: 'She's definitely a stakes horse' The Galway Festival has once again provided a week full of excitement, quality performances, and plenty of talking points. While there have been some great results throughout the meeting, it is always important to reflect on the performances beyond just the winners. Looking back at horses who either won or were defeated can often reveal whether they were unlucky, encountered issues during the race, or perhaps produced a performance that deserves more credit than the finishing position suggests. Having watched back several races already, here are four JP McManus-owned horses that must go into your tracker and could be ones to follow in the future. Race replays are FREE to watch from all Irish tracks and a selection of premier British tracks sponsored by William Hill. Power Of Knowledge Starting off with a runner in the bumper on Monday night, it was Power Of Knowledge for Willie Mullins. This horse is still a full horse by Camelot out of Annie Power, so he's a half-brother to Mystical Power. It was a very green performance, as he was constantly learning throughout the race. When coming with his run in the final furlong and a half, he got slightly bumped out by the Gordon Elliott-trained Prime Contender, which could have just impacted him on debut as he was learning a lot. But his family are all winners, and the pedigree is to die for. So, for me, this is a horse that will be worth keeping onside in future bumpers, potentially over the Flat next season and over hurdles as well, as it was just a debut run and he will come on from that debut. Venusienne The next horse is Venusienne. She was an extremely impressive winner of the Mares' Handicap Hurdle. She went off 11/1 for the race and won like a 1/11 shot. A 27-length winner of a maiden hurdle back in October last year but then disappointed after an injury in Kilbeggan when she was beaten 38 lengths by Carmels Phoenix, and she jumped poorly that day. However, it was a different story on this occasion in Galway under Harry Cobden. She jumped extremely well, travelled so fluently, and put the race to bed extremely easily off a mark of 122. She's going to get a fair amount of weight for this performance, but for me, she's definitely a stakes horse and will continue to be a stakes horse. I look forward to seeing her next season competing in all the top-class mares' races. Vicar Street The next horse is another with a pedigree to die for, Galileo out of talented mare Vroum Vroum Mag. Vicar Street is slowly getting to grips with his racing and is a seven-year-old to definitely keep an eye on. I loved his performance in Galway. He travelled well before a mistake five out, which woke him up, and after that he didn't miss a beat from there. When asked by Harry Cobden to extend, he duly obliged to win. Listening to Willie Mullins' interview after the race, it was clear he holds this horse in high regard, and he'll be one to keep an eye on for the future over fences. Journey So Far The final JP McManus horse to keep an eye on and add to your notebooks is the Gavin Cromwell-trained Journey So Far. He was an easy winner in Tramore on his chase debut, and he came to Galway only having that experience over fences. He actually travelled into the race very well and just weakened late on. But he came in there in contention before the final two flights very easily, which makes me think that he's a horse that will improve from the experience, and he'll be one definitely to keep an eye on in handicaps in the future.
