Saint Roi and Hurricane Georgie, both unplaced in the Galway Plate earlier in the week, made a strong comeback on the final day of the festival at Ballybrit.
Saint Roi, trained by Willie Mullins, is a Grade One winner over fences and claimed the County Hurdle at Cheltenham in 2020. Now nine years old, he was ridden aggressively by Aidan Kelly in the Lord Hemphill Memorial Handicap Chase. Despite looking vulnerable as The Dasher Conway and Dreal Deal closed in, Saint Roi battled back to secure victory by a length and a quarter at 13-2.
Kelly noted that his horse struggled in the larger field of the Plate and was startled at the first fence, impacting performance. Following advice from Willie and Frank Berry, he kept the horse handy today, and it jumped well, though it might have felt lonely in the straight. This win marked Kelly's first with Willie, despite limited rides.
Mullins' victory made him the leading trainer of the week, while Gordon Elliott’s Hurricane Georgie, ridden by Jack Kennedy, secured the top jockey title. Sent off at 4-1 in the Kinlay Hostel Chase, Hurricane Georgie, after finishing seventh in the Plate, won easily by four and a half lengths. Kennedy praised the mare for her toughness and excellent jumping, expressing satisfaction with his success after a previously rough Galway week. Earlier, he also won on Flicker Of Hope in the Kenny Galway Handicap Hurdle.