Captain Cee Bee Entered for Galway Hurdle

Having been saddled with an extremely tough top weight in the Galway Plate on Wednesday, connections have opted for an interesting change of strategy as they shift him into the 2m Galway Hurdle on Thursday. The ten-year-old Irish-bred gelding has been active since his placing at Punchestown and he actually enters the race off a Grade 3 score at Tipperary in the Grimes Hurdle two weeks ago.

Speaking to the media, trainer Eddie Harty declared “We've decided against running in the Plate and the Galway Hurdle is now the target.”

Said to be fresh and ready to roll, Captain Cee Bee could wind up going off as top weight in his new race as well, especially if we see the withdrawal of Overturn. However, he will only be required to carry 10st 11lb as top weight, which connections will likely be more confident in. The going is expected to be listed as good on Thursday.

Captain Cee Bee's runner up in the Grimes Hurdle, The Real Article, enters this race as the distinct favourite with a 7/2 price tag on offer from most major bookmakers. He is currently punching at a 128 rating but looks set to take a step up here for the Eoin O'Grady yard.

Captain Cee Bee can be backed at anywhere from 12/1 to 8/1 depending on the bookmaker but you can certainly expect a fan favourite like him to take a substantial amount of money on the day of the race. There are a number of well-priced competitors in the same price range as Captain Cee Bee so it should be a fairly solid betting race if anywhere over 20 contenders actually lines up.

An interesting outside prospect for the Galway Hurdle is the four-year-old son of Danehill Dancer, Street Entertainer. Third in a listed contest at Market Rasen, he captured back to back victories in his previous contests at Punchestown and Chepstow. Certain to fetch a good price, he looks one of the up-and-coming jumpers in the David Pipe barn.

The 2011 Galway Plate is a Grade A handicap hurdle and runs at 4:50 pm on Thursday, July 28.