Key Points
- My Galway betting tip is well handicapped based on his fifth place in last year’s renewal
- He ran a solid race over C&D on Monday this week with a 7lb Claimer on board
- This one has a notable jockey booked for today and one who has a strong record for the stable
We had the dream end to July with Intervention winning at 10/1 on Thursday. We then had the very best start to August with Rhoscolyn winning at Glorious Goodwood at 12/1! Across those two days, I put up two tips totalling 4pts and they returned 30.4pts! Today I’m looking to land a hat-trick of winning tips here at Betting.co.uk, and I have one at a huge price for you!
As the resident horse racing tipster here, I usually post four betting tips each week, but you’ll sometimes find other types of content too. This may include betting guides, big race trends and antepost picks. By the way, don’t forget to check out my
antepost selection for the St Leger
in September, and the others where I feature selections for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, and the 2026 Aintree Grand National. Recommend checking those out soon to grab the early prices.
Betting advice
- 14:37 Galway -
Metamorpheus
@ 25/1 (5 places) -
0.5pt each way
At the time of writing, the best price available for Metamorpheus is 25/1 and Betfair is one of the bookies offering those odds. In addition, there’s a generous five places available for this race. Finally, Betfair has a superb sign up offer for all new customers. If you
bet £10, they’ll give you £30 of free bets. That’s excellent all-round value!
To me, Metamorpheus looks a fantastic bet for the 2m 1f Galway Tribes Handicap Hurdle today, and he is hugely over-priced at 25/1. In this article, I’ll show you why I’m convinced this is the case!
Last year, Metamorpheus came into this race off a mark of 117, and he put on a very solid performance, finishing in fifth place. He raced prominently throughout, led narrowly before two out, but was headed approaching the last, and faded into fifth on the run-in.
The horse in second place, Tounsivator, went on to win the Grade 2 Royal Bond, beating some useful horses, including Romeo Coolio. The one who came in third that day was Lord Erskine, who went on to finish second in Listed company at Listowel in September, before landing Listed honours at the Fairyhouse meeting in April. So it’s safe to say that the form looks rock solid.
Metamorpheus now returns for another crack at this race, but this time off a mark of 110, 7lb lower than last year. As a result, he carries a lovely racing weight of just 10st 3lb. If he turns up in the same form as last year, he must have a great chance of being involved at the finish, especially as he is a whole stone better off than last year’s winner, Volantis, who shoulders 11st 12lb.
He ran a solid race over C&D on Monday this week under a 7lb Claimer
Interestingly, Metamorpheus has already had a bit of a dress rehearsal for this race, as he ran over C&D on Monday. He ran a very solid race that day to finish in fifth off this same mark of 110.
I feel that run can even be marked up, as he had a 7lb claimer aboard, and she was unable to get him settled in the early stage. He then made a mistake at the last, and she didn’t look all that strong in the saddle on the run-in either. I just wonder whether that was a spin around to prepare him for today, his real race…
I find today’s jockey booking for Metamorpheus particularly interesting. For his race on Monday, trainer Richard John O’Brien booked a 7lb claimer - Anna McGuinness - who had never ridden for the yard previously.
But today, he has booked Danny Mullins for the ride. Now Danny is a top jockey with many Grade 1 victories to his name and he’s obviously part of the Mullins dynasty. So with no disrespect to Anna, it’s a chalk and cheese booking.
What I find even more interesting though is his record for the stable. Danny Mullins has had thirty rides for Richard John O’Brien. Eight of them (27%) have won and nineteen of them (63%) have finished in the first four. That is a very strong record, particularly for a trainer operating at a strike rate of 15% over the last five years in Irish Jump races.
Now Danny Mullins needs a winner… As you may have seen, he’s decided to go down the route of red braids for his hair… Which has come with plenty of talk and backlash. His general view was that he’ll look like a muppet if he doesn’t ride a winner now but he was basically hoping his results would do the talking at Galway.
As it stands, with two days of Galway action to go, Danny Mullins is yet to ride a winner! Maybe Metamorpheus can dig him out of the hole he currently finds himself in?
But joking aside, I think Metamorpheus has a very solid chance in this race today. He has run at the track twice, both times here at the Galway Festival and in both races, he finished a very solid fifth. He’s 7lb lower in weight than for his first attempt in last year’s renewal of this Handicap Hurdle, and he has a major jockey upgrade since his attempt over the 2m 1f distance here earlier in the week.
Metamorpheus is clearly handicapped to strike, and he has a jockey with plenty of ability and hunger, to ride a winner this week! I think he’s been completely underestimated in the market at 25/1, and he’s well worthy of an each way bet at that price, especially with five places on offer. Let's put it this way, if the horse that was sixth in the Boodles/Fred Winter at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival turns up, he could make 25/1 look silly…
That said, he does need to improve on his fifth place on Monday though, and this is a tougher race. He has a record of just one win from 24 races, and he has to handle the quick turnaround, so it’s only half stakes for me on this one.
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