Weld soon in Festival mood

Dermot Weld landed the main event on the opening day of the Galway Festival when Ghimaar defied top-weight in the carlton.ie/galwaycity Handicap over two miles.The king of Ballybrit had won the last two renewals of this valuable event but Ghimaar looked up against it, having failed to get his head in front since the same day 12 months ago, when he scored in a 12-furlong handicap.However, the 10-1 chance was always going well and after hitting the front on the final bend, Robbie McNamara only had to keep his mount up to his work to score by two and a half lengths from Evening Rushour.It was a second successive victory in the race for the jockey, who guided Weld's Majestic Concorde to victory last year.The trainer was completing a quick double after Stunning View justified cramped odds in the radissonhotelgalway.com (C&G) EBF Maiden.Ridden by stable jockey Pat Smullen, the 4-9 favourite travelled with menace throughout the seven-furlong heat and once given the office at the top of the straight, he pulled clear to score by three lengths from Banyan Tree.Weld said of the winner, a 25-1 shot with Hills for next season's 2000 Guineas: "He did it as we expected. He's a very nice colt and we've a lot to look forward to. We won't be rushing him."It was very good maiden he ran in at the Curragh first time. We have him entered in the Goffs Million and the National Stakes."