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Galway Festival Day 4 Tips - Best Bets & Predictions on Galway Hurdle Day

Jon Vine

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Last updated: Wed 29 Jul 2026 17:29

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Jon Vine 29 Jul 2026

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Best bets for day four of the 2026 Galway Festival
The Galway Hurdle tops the billing at Galway on Thursday 30th July
Shadow Paddy and No More Porter feature in our day four tips

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Curragh racecourse. (Getty)

The Galway Festival bandwagon rolls on into Thursday, with the Galway Hurdle headlining another thrilling day of racing.

Here are my best betting tips for Thursday's card at Galway.

Galway Festival 2026 Day 4 Schedule

Time	Title
2:10pm	Guinness Irish EBF Nursery Handicap (Class 2) 7f
2:45pm	Arthur Guinness Irish EBF Corrib Fillies Stakes (Listed Race) 7f
3:20pm	Guinness Open Gate Brewery Novice Chase (Grade 3) 2m2f
3:55pm	Guinness Novice Hurdle (Class 2) 2m4½f
4:30pm	Guinness Galway Hurdle (Grade 3 Handicap) 2m
5:05pm	Rockshore Refreshingly Irish Handicap (Class 2) 1m½f
5:40pm	Guinness 0.0 Handicap (Class 2) 1m4f
6:12pm	Guinness Time INH Flat Race (Class 2) 2m2f

Galway Festival Day 4 Tips - Thursday 30th July

2:45pm Galway - Corrib Fillies Stakes Tips

PIVOTAL ATTACK (8/1) is nicely priced in this wide-open Listed race. Joseph Murphy's filly hammered Amelia Earhart and Black Caviar Gold when winning her maiden at this meeting 12 months ago, before going on to finish fifth in the Moyglare Stud Stakes on Irish Champions Weekend.

Having kept on well to finish a three-length third behind True Love in the Guineas Trial at Leopardstown in April, Pivotal Attack only beat three horses home in the Irish 1000 Guineas. Gary Carroll's mount returned from a short absence in the Cairn Rouge Stakes at Killarney, where she was beaten three lengths behind Meriden and Green Carrera.

Considering how well she handled this track last season, I wouldn't be surprised if Murphy, who saddled the winner of the Corrib Fillies' Stakes in 2021, had been training Pivotal Attack for this race all season. Carroll's mount has been drawn nicely in stall seven, and this drop back to seven furlongs should really suit.

3:20pm Galway - Guinness Open Gate Brewery Novice Chase Tips

We quickly move on to a Grade Three over fences, where SHADOW PADDY (7/4) should take the world of beating.

Eoin McCarthy's six-year-old was busy over hurdles last summer, winning a handicap at Listowel and a Listed race at Limerick. Shadow Paddy was then sent to Aintree for a speculative tilt at the Sefton Novices' Hurdle, where he was pulled up before halfway.

Gary Noonan's mount slammed Le Coq Hardi in a Beginners' Chase at Limerick six weeks after Aintree, despite making a hash of several obstacles. Shadow Paddy was a little tidier in the jumping department at Killarney last time out, where he beat market rival Endless Talking with a good turn of foot between the final two fences.

Shadow Paddy is clearly learning on the job over fences, and I'd be surprised if he didn't produce his most accomplished round of jumping yet on Thursday. McCarthy's six-year-old loves decent ground, and looks to have more than enough talent to land this fairly modest Grade Three.

4:30pm Galway - Galway Hurdle Tips

Read our full guide to the 2026 Galway Hurdle to find out who we've backed in Thursday's main event.

5:05pm Galway - Rockshore Refreshingly Irish Handicap Tips

18 of the last 20 winners of this handicap came into the race having been off the track for no more than 22 days. NO MORE PORTER (9/1) ran really well at Gowran Park on Saturday, and Adrian McGuinness' old boy is more than good enough to land a blow in this company.

No More Porter ran one of the best races of his long career at this meeting in 2023, where he was only beaten a neck by Coeur d'Or in the hugely valuable Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap. McGuinness' eight-year-old is without a win since September 2024, and slipped down to a mark in the 60s for the first time in his career after yet another defeat in June.

Since then, No More Porter has recorded three placed efforts, and got within half a length of the talented three-year-old Hambleton at Gowran last week. Nathan Crosse's mount runs off the same mark of 72 on Thursday, and No More Porter should relish the set-up of this open contest.

Verdict

Galway Festival 2026 Day 4

Galway Festival Day 4 Tips:

Shadow Paddy

3:20pm Galway

@7/4 - 5 Units

Bet £10 Get £30

in free bets

18+. New UK customers (Excluding NI) only. Min Deposit £10. Min stake £10. Min odds Evs. Free bet applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. 30 days to qualify. Free bets expire in 7 days. Cashed out/Free Bets won’t apply. Account & Payment method restrictions apply. 1 Free Bet offer per customer, household & IP Address only. T&Cs Apply 18+. IRE/NI & UK online only. Max Free Bet £/€10. Win or win part of e/w outright singles. 5+ runners. 1st bet on each race. Free/void/antepost bets don't qualify. In event of a dead heat, offer won’t apply. Applies to First Past the Post result. Unnamed 2nd Favs don’t qualify. Acc & Payment restrictions apply. T&Cs apply.

Bet at BOYLE Sports

Pivotal Attack

2:45pm Galway

@8/1 - 5 Units

Bet £10 Get £30

with bonus code NEWBONUS

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Bet at bet365

No More Porter

5:05pm Galway

@9/1 - 5 Units

£30 Free Bet

Use promo code NEWBONUS

Claim £30 free bet & 20 Free Spins. Use the promo code NEWBONUS. New Hollywoodbets account holders. 18 years or older. United Kingdom residents only. T&Cs apply.

Bet at Hollywoodbets