Diamond Hill
Diamond Hill did well to finish fourth in the Guinness Handicap Hurdle. Second best in the betting of the Willie Mullins sextet, and weak in the market beforehand, her jumping wasn't overly fluent, and she made a significant mistake at the second last flight just when it appeared that she was making progress. That halted her momentum on the run up the hill and effectively ended her winning chance, but she still stayed on well up the hill to take fourth place behind her two stable companions Great White Shark and My Sister Sarah.
It was a fine run by the Beat Hollow mare on her first run since last November, when she finished eighth in the November Handicap at Naas. She hadn't run over hurdles since she won her maiden hurdle at the 2019 Galway Festival. This was her first time to run over a distance in excess of two miles and five furlongs, and she saw out the trip well. Winner of the Listed Oyster Stakes at Galway last September, she has a flat rating of 98, so she has plenty of leeway in her hurdles rating of 125. She has raced just six times over hurdles, and she will be of interest now in another good staying handicap hurdle.
Galway, 31st July 2020
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