Johnny Ward: my top five tips for Galway and Wexford on Sunday

One weekend, while working for the Sunday Independent, I was due to make a maiden visit to the Giant's Causeway (the place rather than the horse) with my then-girlfriend.

Things went badly awry when I met some old college mates on the Friday night. I wasn't for contacting the following morning and she threatened to leave me.

On the Sunday, we made up and I went through the card at Naas. Seven winners out of seven. We're no longer together and I've never gone through the card again but I'm hoping for a similar haul on Sunday, with five selections.

Be lucky.

This is a smart maiden, no doubt, but I can see Thedevilscoachman being weak in the market and he makes it a lovely each-way make-up for others. Churchstone Warrior is quite a classy hurdler and is trainer, Jonathan Sweeney, has an outstanding strike-rate.

He should be very hard to beat, especially if the market is any way positive about him. He ran a nice race behind the smart Monbeg Park on bad ground in a bumper and subsequently ran better again. He's all stamina and should readily outstay the limited Vocito. Trainer Seamus Neville is having a fine season.

There is a clear concern that Deadheat might not build on his Galway return but that was perfectly encouraging, especially as Gevrey, who he might well have beaten if harder ridden on his return from a long layoff, won readily next time at Limerick. It seems telling he returns to Galway and he has a great chance on old form.

It appears that County Cork trainer Sean Aherne has teamed up with the owner of Champagne Vacation to get a few horses that were with other trainers. I was working in Mallow when Champagne Auction made his debut for Aherne, having been with three other trainers, and he won well at 40-1. Champagne Vacation had previously run a blinder for Pat Kelly when last seen at Galway about a year ago. Aherne has again booked the excellent Sean O'Keeffe and has a respectable strike-rate with his horses. Champagne Vacation could be absolutely chucked in here in a 0-102 contest.

I rate this horse the good thing of the weekend. An expensive yearling, he runs in the Magnier silks, and is from a high-class family. The key is that he relished the slog when winning at Naas in March plus Gordon Elliott has his horses in good form. Favourite Moon will surely flounder after all the rain the course has had of late.