IT’S four days on since his second Tote sponsored Galway Plate triumph in three years and Danny Gilligan is still a little awestruck by what he achieved at his local racetrack.

The 19-year-old had cemented his place in Galway Summer Racing Festival folklore the previous Wednesday when landing the €270,000 feature on 11/1 chance Western Fold.

Gilligan had already gone into the festival record books when becoming the youngest jockey to win the Galway Plate – one of the most valuable races on the National Hunt calendar – on Ash Tree Meadow in 2023.

Twelve months later, the Craughwell teenager came close to emulating that feat when Duffle Coat finished a gallant second to Noel Meade’s 20/1 winner Pinkerton.

And young Gilligan – tipped to go to the very top of his sport – confirmed his love affair with the Plate in 2025 in securing a fifth success in the race over the past decade for trainer Gordon Elliott.

Never letting the front-running Amirate out of his sights, Gilligan always had Western Fold ideally positioned as the three market leaders, Down Memory Lane, Nurburging and Anyway, failed to give their supporters a run for their money.

Anyway unseated at the fourth fence, Nurburging made a mistake at the first and was eventually pulled up, while Down Memory Lane went out like a light in the dip in trailing home in 16th position.

Having tracked Amirate all the way, Western Fold hit the front at the last and the only danger to emerge up the hill was Jesse Evans, twice previously runner up in the Guinness Hurdle.

And though initially looking a real threat, the luckless nine-year-old again had to settle for the runners-up spot at the festival as Western Fold began to pull away over the final 100 yards. The winning partnership was following up their recent triumph in the Mayo National at Ballinrobe and the 10lb penalty which went with it.

And giving Gilligan extra satisfaction was the fact that his father Paul and older brother, Jack, combined for morning gamble, Buddy One, to finish an honourable sixth despite becoming fractious in the preliminaries.

“It was brilliant to win the Plate again and I couldn’t really believe it at the time. A couple of days later, it’s starting to sink in, especially being local. It’s been a lucky race for me.

“It was real shock to win the race again, and it doesn’t get any better than this. Since the horse has stepped up in trip and got a bit nicer ground, he’s starting to improve.

“I thought it was a fair performance with all the weight Western Fold had and he even won comfortably at the line. Hopefully, he hasn’t stopped improving and could turn into a graded horse.”

Gilligan’s second Galway Plate triumph confirms his progress through the jockey ranks in 2025, having also been twice successful at the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival last March on Jazzy Matty (Grand Annual) and Wodooh (Martin Pipe).

“A lot of people have helped me, especially my family, my agent Gary Cribben does a great job for me, while I can’t thank Gordon [Elliott] and his owners enough for giving me the chances.”

Gilligan, who won’t turn 20 until next January, admitted winning the Plate again was “fairytale” stuff. “We got a very smooth run and never really had a moment’s worry. It was plain sailing.”

But just to remind the young Galway jockey of the ups and downs of racing, he picked up a six-day suspension for overuse of the whip on Talk In The Park which finished a close-up second in the Beginners’ Chase at Ballybrit on Friday evening.

Time off, perhaps, when Danny Gilligan can get to truly appreciate the scale of his enormous achievement at his local track last Wednesday.

Pictured: Galway jockey Danny Gilligan salutes the crowd at Ballybrit as he crosses the winning post on Western Fold to land the Tote Galway Plate at the Galway Summer Festival. Photo: Iain McDonald.