RACING:A RARE plus for Brian Cowen recently has been the form of his horse Donnas Palm, and that can continue at Galway this afternoon.
The Taoiseach is one of the members of the Grand Alliance Racing Club which owns Donnas Palm, who can score a ninth victory in the amateur flat race.
Nina Carberry teams up with the classy grey whose two flat starts to date have yielded a Navan win last year and a November Handicap second to Rite Of Passage.
An even better National Hunt profile was added to earlier this month when Donnas Palm beat his stable companion Aitmatov at Tipperary, and that makes him a much more attractive proposition in today’s context than Natural High, who is rated his superior.
The Cheltenham winner Berties Dream has his first start since landing last March’s Albert Bartlett at the festival when he makes his fencing debut in the Beginners Chase.
Andrew Lynch again takes the ride, but they face a serious opponent in Venalmar, who returned to action a month ago with an encouraging third to Realt Dubh at Navan.
Venalmar’s jockey, Ruby Walsh, can enjoy a good afternoon with other promising mounts on the Wexford bumper winner Apt Manor in the mares hurdle and Prosperity Square in the handicap hurdle.
