Killarney Festival: Top Tips for Final Day's Races The final day of Killarney’s July Festival features four competitive handicaps over both fences and hurdles. There’s also a novice chase involving the top-class and versatile Nurburgring, fresh from finishing runner-up at Royal Ascot. Our expert has a trio of selections on the card in the staying handicap hurdle, the 2m1f handicap chase and one in the bumper that concludes the card. Friday’s tips 2.30 Killarney - Zoffanien 3.05 Killarney - Gaelic Arc 5.25 Killarney - Fraher Field Coral Betting Offer If you already have a Coral account, check out more of the best betting sites and online casinos 2.30 Killarney - Zoffanien As long as the ground stays on the goodish side, this looks a winnable opportunity for eight-year-old ZOFFANIEN to get his first win in a while with a good flat run last time out looking to have put him spot on. It’s encouraging that that last victory came here and, although his consistency means he is only 3lb lower than for that run, he has shown time and again in better races than this that he can be competitive. Having often shaped like a stayer, including in his two most recent hurdle starts, he finally gets the chance today in conditions that should suit him. He has only run over this far twice in his long career, on unsuitably soft/heavy ground at Punchestown and then in November 2022 he was beaten less than four lengths in a Class 2 at Cheltenham over three miles. That came off a mark 14lb higher than here and, having made eyecatching late headway in a run over 1m6f on the flat at Navan last time, he looks primed to go well. 3.05 Killarney - Gaelic Arc Having come down the handicap since his victory in this race last year, GAELIC ARC returns only 3lb higher despite having won last time and he can repeat his clear cut success from 2024. Much better on quicker ground - all his wins having come on good to yielding or quicker - he ran plenty of times over the autumn and winter having been hit with an 11lb rise for his win in this race. Almost all of those runs came on unsuitable soft ground, the most notable exceptions coming in his last two runs, which have coincided with his return to form. A sure-footed jumper, he is likely to try and make all in this, just as he did last year, and a race that doesn’t look any better than the 2024 edition looks to be at his mercy. 5.25 Killarney - Fraher Field With no Willie Mullins contender in this mares bumper, it leaves the way clear for John and Thomas Kiely’s FRAHER FIELD to cash in on the promise already shown, with crack amateur John Gleeson back on board. Although running well in her three starts to date, the Order Of St George mare has been a little slow to get the hang of things when push has come to shove and has consequently found herself with too much to do. This looks like a weaker contest than either of her last two, and Gleeson, who will know the mare better than when riding her two outings ago, should be able to get her head in front.
