RACING:OSLOT BECAME just the third British-trained winner of the William Hill Galway Plate when justifying a huge gamble under Ruby Walsh yesterday but in landmark terms he had to compete with the most dominant Ballybrit figure of all as Dermot Weld reached the remarkable 200-winner mark for the summer festival in some style.
The "Galway King" saddled a double yesterday and while Directa King became a candidate for possibly the easiest handicap winner seen in years around here, it was Lady Alicia who had the honour of being the 200th winner trained at the festival by Weld when landing the amateur maiden.
"It's a nice day to do it on and it is a satisfying moment," said the man whose first success as a trainer at Galway came with Klair Vimy in 1972. "There's no sign of the horses slowing down but I'm not looking too far ahead. We've got to try and win the next race!"
That didn't quite happen as the last race favourite, Designated Decoy, was beaten in the maiden by Amarama. But yesterday's double brought Weld's total for the week to eight, already just two shy of his best ever score for a week at the festival. He has saddled 10 winners here on four previous occasions.
The biggest cheer, however, was reserved for Oslot's four-length defeat of Oodachee as Ruby Walsh secured his second success in the mid-summer chase highlight to bring off a major public punt.
Morning prices of 11 to 2 quickly disappeared and Oslot's 11 to 4 SP meant he became the shortest-priced winner since Kiichi won at 2 to 1 in 1990.
In the process he followed in the footsteps of Amlah 10 years ago and Strategy in 1904 as British-trained Plate winners while bringing to a perfect conclusion a long-held plan by Paul Nicholls.
Britain's champion trainer was out of luck when Hoo La Baloo was brought down in the race last year but he long believed Oslot was a perfect candidate for compensation this time.
"Last year we were unlucky but that's jump racing. There are hiccups. We'd planned this for a little while because it's a massive prize," Nicholls said. "Today was his aim. It was his Gold Cup. It doesn't matter if he retires for the rest of the season!"
Yesterday's victory adds to an ever-growing list of major chase wins in this country by Nicholls whose association with Walsh is now the dominant one in National Hunt racing. "He's a great trainer and he has so many good horses," said Walsh. "Paul had this plan in his head for a while and the horse travelled so well. I was afraid I got there too soon and half way up the hill things got a bit lonely. But all of Paul's keep going."
Oodachee chased Oslot home but it was the former double-winner Ansar who again ran a blinding race in the Plate to finish third. "He's run a wonderful race and is an amazing horse. Denis (O'Regan) said the ground had just gone a little for him. His jumping just isn't as precise when it isn't quick," said Dermot Weld.
If Oslot was dramatic then there was no doubting who the easiest winner of the day was as Directa King was a ridiculously easy winner of the mile-and-a-half handicap. The half-brother to the Deutsches Derby winner Dai Jin is a recent purchase out of Germany by Weld and he proved different class to yesterday's rivals.
"He was bought as a dual-purpose horse and I think he'll do a job in a maiden hurdle somewhere as well," grinned the trainer.
Another wide-margin handicap winner was Vanishing Causeway who won the mile handicap by nine lengths while South African jockey Keegan Latham rode his first Galway winner on board Invincible Joe in the other mile handicap.
