Ifiwerearichman
Ifiwerearichman only finished ninth in the two-miles-six-and-a-half-furlong handicap hurdle at Galway on Saturday, but he was unlucky not to finish closer. Held up early on by Eoin Staples behind a sedate pace, his stamina for the trip not guaranteed, he travelled well in rear from early. Still on the bridle as they raced down the hill with two flights to jump, he was still only 13th jumping the second last flight but, asked for his effort as they rounded the home turn, he made ground on the inside and was in a share of sixth place on the approach to the final flight, momentum up. He got in tight to the final obstacle, however, he had to regain his momentum on landing, and he went for a gap between Mousey Brown and the rail which he just got to too late and which never really opened up thereafter. The result was that he had to check and come back and around, and his rider accepted the situation with 100 yards to run. He probably wouldn't have beaten the impressive winner Grann's Boy, even with a clear run, but he would have got a lot closer to him than he did. Mousey Brown finished fourth and he probably would have finished in front of her.
This run confirmed the suspicion that Ifiwerearichman is potentially a well-handicapped horse over hurdles. Winner of the Galway Tribes Hurdle in 2023, Paul Nolan's horse missed most of the 2023/24 season, and he was novice chasing last season. This was his third run this spring back over hurdles, and, in the second of them, he shaped encouragingly in finishing a staying-on sixth behind Wednesday's Galway Hurdle winner Putapoundinthejar at Bellewstown in early July. He proved here that he could stay this type of trip, and that opens up options. He could be a horse for some of the good staying handicap hurdles now. His hurdles rating of 125 is 10lb lower than his chase mark, and that may under-rate his ability over hurdles by some way.
Galway, 1st August 2026
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