By George McDonagh

FOR those of us who are regular racegoers, there are two questions that we love to hear at this time of year: what will win “The Plate” and Is their anything “lurking” in the Hurdle field.

The Tote Galway Plate has attracted an entry of 32 with Blood Destiny from the Willie Mullins stable the highest rated and in nine starts over fences, there were three wins including defeating both Heart Wood and Spillane’s Tower in his novice season.

That is top class form while his third success came in facile all-the-way fashion at Listowel in June, but carrying top weight in a helter skelter Galway Plate is a totally different proposition.

Last year’s Galway Hurdle hero Nurburgring has been on many people’s lists since his fine effort behind Caldwell Potter in the Novice Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and the subsequent Grade One success of the winner at Aintree has certainly franked that line of form.

Nurburgring was a comfortable winner of a novice event at Killarney last week for which his rating jumped three pounds to 148, but any mistake like the one he made at the second last will cost him dear. His performance when second in the Ascot Stakes is another plus but you have to go back to Dermot Weld’s Kiichi in 1990 to fine the last five-year-old to triumph.

Veteran Ashdale Bob was winning for the first time in three years when landing the Grade 3 Novice at last year’s festival, but surely will find one or two too quick for him late on. Spanish Harlem has plenty of solid handicap form but lacks the touch of class to prevail while Jesse Evans, a Galway Hurdle regular, will possibly wait for the 2m 2f handicap on the Sunday. Cheltenham Festival winner Jazzy Matty has disappointed in his two runs since.

The final outcome may boil down to a battle between the Emmet Mullins trained Sea Music and the Gordon Elliott trained trio of Western Fold, Three Card Brag and Down Memory Lane.

Pictured: Pinkerton and Donagh Meyler (black and red colours) landing the Tote Galway Plate at Ballybrit 12 months ago. Photo: Iain McDonald.