Ndaawi lands Galway Hurdle after dramatic stewards' enquiry
Gordon Elliott completed a Galway feature race double
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Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy celebrate their victory in the Guinness Galway Hurdle
Gordon Elliott completed a Festival feature double in dramatic circumstances as Ndaawi landed the Galway Hurdle following a stewards’ enquiry.
Helvic Dream crossed the line in front under Donagh Meyler for Noel Meade following a tight finish with the pair at close quarters.
Replays showed Ndaawi had been restricted and the placings were reversed, ensuring Meade was left to settle for a second runners-up spot in as many days following Jesse Evans’ brave display in the Galway Plate – also won by Elliott.
After a stewards' enquiry, Ndaawi has been awarded the @GuinnessIreland @Galway_Races Hurdle 🏆 pic.twitter.com/VTvCyAd9Nw
— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) July 31, 2025
This was a first win in the Hurdle for the Cullentra trainer – as well as jockey Jack Kennedy – but Elliott admitted it was somewhat bittersweet, coming at the expense of his fellow Meath man.
“Jack said as soon as he came in he thought he’d get it,” he said.
“I’m delighted I won the race, but Noel Meade is one of my best friends in racing and I know how he is feeling now. I’m delighted for the owners.
“It’s not the same when it’s a stewards’ enquiry but rules are rules and if they are broken, the result deserves to be changed.”
Targeting this race was a plan long in the making for Elliott and he is now targeting a lucrative flat race in America in October for the five-year-old, who was second in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham in March.
Kennedy, meanwhile, was always confident the result would go his way once he was able to make his case.
"It's not a nice way to get it, but I do feel I'd have won had I not received the interference. I'm delighted we came out on the right side of it. If Donagh came off of me in the final 100 yards we'd have got going again.
"Harry (Cobden) slotted in front of me and put me a position further back than where I wanted to be. But I ended up getting out and I was happy enough then.
“Being fresh suited him, I’m delighted.”
Meyler picked himself up to win the next race, the Guinness Novice Hurdle, on board Strong Link, but couldn’t hide his disappointment at the feature slipping from his grasp.
"It's a horror story. It is what it is, and we'll have to pick ourselves up and go again,” he said.