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What a difference 24 hours makes. Pulled up when quietly fancied for Thursday’s Galway Hurdle, Brazil switched codes and rebounded in extraordinary fashion to win the feature Guinness Handicap on Friday.
Ridden by veteran jockey Niall McCullagh for trainer Padraig Roche, Brazil's second bid for Festival success did not begin in the most auspicious circumstances. Sluggish from the stalls and towards the back early on, McCullagh had most of his rivals in front of him when beginning to work away on the JP McManus-owned gelding four furlongs from the end of the €110,000 1m4f contest.
Seemingly determined to avoid the same fate as the previous day, when pulled up before jumping the second last, Brazil forced his way into contention rounding the final turn and then joined Monday's Connacht Hotel Handicap winner Teed Up and Chally Chute in a three-way tussle for the lead. McCullagh drove Brazil in front of Teed Up in the final strides to win by a head, with the same margin back to Chally Chute in third, the winner returning at an SP of 14/1.
Trainer Roche enjoyed the biggest win of his career when Brazil won the Gr.3 Fred Winter Juvenile Novices' Hurdle at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, and now the same horse was supplying the County Kildare trainer with his biggest win on the flat.
Quoted afterwards by Racing TV, Roche said: "Yesterday was the plan, but unfortunately that didn't go to plan and in fairness to Mark (Walsh) he looked after him. We had him in today and it was great, Niall gave him a great ride, so I'm delighted."
Expanding on the disappointment of the previous day, he continued: "Look it's Galway, the start is everything. Fair play to Mark he looked after him and he knew he was in today. He's a hardy horse and there's no bother with him. He came back, ate up last night and was bouncing this morning so we said we'd give him a chance."
Brazil's winning margin was the narrowest on a day of tight finishes, the only real exception being Countess Of Tyrone in the following 1m4f maiden. The Paddy Twomey-trained three-year-old daughter of Australia was making an ideal start to her career, quickening off the home turn to beat Delicate Girl by three-and-a-quarter lengths. She is a full-sister to Earl Of Tyrone, who was a Listed winner for the Twomey stable last year, before a transfer to the William Haggas yard.
The sole two-year-old race of the day went to Dermot Weld and Chris Hayes courtesy of Captain Maverick, a son of the trainer's Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes winner Free Eagle, while Shanroe justified favouritism in the 1m6f conditions event for trainer Karl Thornton and jockey Robbie Colgan. The 15/8 chance saw off a trio of Willie Mullins-trained runners to score by half a length.
The jumping action was confined to a pair of furiously competitive €80,000 handicaps.
Ifiwerearichman caused a 28/1 surprise by making all for trainer Paul Nolan and jockey Sean O'Keeffe in the opening 2m handicap hurdle, while Toss Again was a bold jumping winner of the Guinness Galway Blazers Handicap Chase for Henry de Bromhead and Darragh O'Keeffe. De Bromhead was saddling the winner of the race for the fourth time in seven years.
