Former jockey Robbie Power is no stranger to success at the Galway Festival and he is looking forward to being back at the track next week for the seven-day extravaganza.
The action at Ballybrit gets underway on Monday with the highlights of the week being the Galway Plate and the Galway Hurdle.
Discussing his memories of Galway, Power, a Boylesports ambassador, said: “I’m going to enjoy and miss the Galway Festival at the same time this year. Galway is the next best festival after Punchestown and it’ll be the first week that I miss not riding because the buzz and atmosphere in Galway is unique and I used to love riding there.
“Of course I’m going to enjoy it a lot more and there’s no better city to enjoy than Galway. There are so many spots during raceweek to enjoy. I can enjoy the restaurants and also Monroe’s pub in Galway is a big racing pub so there’ll be a great atmosphere in there as well. I’ll definitely be there a couple of evenings during the week.”
Reflecting on the impact victories in the Galway Plate and Galway Hurdle had on his career, Power continued: “To win the Galway Hurdle or the Galway Plate was probably one of my first big successes that kickstarted my career. They’re both unique races to win and it’s very, very difficult to win both of them. I don’t think even Barry Geraghty has won a Galway Plate before.
“It’s a bit like Cheltenham in the sense that you can have a bad season and a couple of winners at Cheltenham and it’d be considered a good season.
“If you get a couple of winners at Galway then all of a sudden you’re having a great summer. Galway has more of a party atmosphere than Cheltenham and with crowds coming back after so long away, it’s going to be an unbelievable atmosphere this year. Galway is the pinnacle of the summer.
“I always got a huge buzz from winning races wherever they were. Winning the Galway Hurdle on Tudor City gave me one of the best feelings of my life because of the way I had to ride him and because Galway is a unique track so that gave me an unbelievable thrill.
“Winning the Hurdle or Plate are two of the biggest races you can win in Ireland and they give you huge satisfaction.”
