This meeting has long been regarded as a Mecca for fastground horses, with Dermot Weld the undisputed king of trainers, but you can expect to see plenty of upsets.

The going is currently described as heavy, but Weld's good servant, the ultra-consistent Galway specialist Ansar, proved that he handles soft ground when turning in an eye-catching run on the flat at Killarney last week.

The 11-year-old was having his first outing of the season in a two-mile one-furlong handicap and made up a lot of ground from the tail of the field to finish second behind Our Monty.

Ansar and Peter Bowen's challenger Yes Sir head the weights for Wednesday's centre-piece, the William Hill Galway Plate, and the sponsors make Weld's charge 8/1 joint favourite with Cool Running to capture his third Galway Plate and register a record eighth success at Ballybrit.

Cool Running, a progressive performer, represents the connections of last year's winner Far From Trouble and William Hill are offering 11/4 about his owner JP McManus winning this year.

Peter Bowen has indicated he could also be represented by last Saturday's impressive Market Rasen scorer Iron Man and the Summer Plate runner-up Hoo La Baloo, from the Paul Nicholls yard, is another expected to travel.

Other horses to consider are the Jimmy Mangantrained Conna Castle, Ursumman and Jessica Harrington's Knight Legend.

The Willie Mullins-trained veteran Adamant Approach has been entered for the Galway Plate and Thursday's feature, the Guinness Galway Hurdle, as well as tomorrow evening's GPT Amateur Handicap. My bet is on the evergreen performer to run in the GPT, with the trainer's son Patrick in the saddle.

The bookmakers have installed Farmer Brown, Hegrid and Zeroroberto as joint favourites for the Galway Hurdle, but don't overlook the chances of Kings Quay, who is bidding to become the first Englishtrained winner of the race since Sagaman in 1991.