With all the predictability of a favourite getting chinned on the line, and after weeks of heatwave conditions, the weather gods have timed a turn in the elements for Monday’s start to the Galway festival.Not that the prospect of cloud and drizzle rather than baking sunshine will prevent forecast attendances of up to 130,000 people making the annual trek to Ballybrit over the next seven days.In terms of popular appeal there’s more than 150 years of history to underline how impervious this ultimate summer racing festival is to any ups and downs in the west of Ireland climate.For those charged with maintaining the racing surface there’s also the benefit of easing up on levels of watering that might have those observing hosepipe bans grinding their teeth.Nevertheless, the timing must be galling for Galway officials teeing up a week’s action, worth more than €2 million in prize money, that guarantees uninterrupted levels of sweeping media coverage through the week.Monday’s first five races, concluding with the featured Connacht Hotel Handicap at 6.40pm, are live on RTÉ 2. The first four days are on that channel. TG4 takes over for Friday and Saturday’s action.Friday’s card was the best attended last year with 26,234 through the gates, contributing to official overall crowd figures of just under 126,000. That was up nearly 10,000 on 2024.Recently released figures from Horse Racing Ireland suggest something of a stall in overall crowd levels for the first half of this year, although many will hope it can be reversed this week.Trainer Willie Mullins. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho An overall return of 570,252 for the first six months of 2026 is up just 0.7 per cent on the same period last year. The figures are returned by racecourses and often include all those working at meetings including trainers, jockeys and stable staff, rather than just paying attendees.The most prominent of those figures this week is again likely to be champion National Hunt trainer Willie Mullins. He won the festival’s leading trainer award for a 10th time last year, holding off Joseph O’Brien. Dylan Browne McMonagle was the week’s top flat rider, while Jack Kennedy was leading jockey over the jumps with four winners.All of them are in action on Monday and Mullins is sure to be a major player in the week’s two major jumps prizes.His Funiculi Funicula is a 5-1 ante-post favourite for Wednesday evening’s Tote Galway Plate. The Mullins mare Murcia is a general 6-1 second best in betting for Thursday’s Guinness Galway Hurdle behind Gordon Elliott’s El Cairos. Each of the feature races is worth €270,000.Mullins has three in the opening day highlight, often referred to as Irish racing’s “Amateur Derby”, as well as two of the reserves. Joseph O’Brien has a handful in the race proper, including the fancied JP McManus runner Light Up The Dark. Last year’s winner Filey Bay is one of a McManus trio in the race.The last three winners are back for another crack at the two-mile contest. Sirius sprang a 50-1 shock under English rider David Dunsdon in 2024, while the 2023 winner Teed Up will try to further improve a remarkable course record that has seen him score six times around Ballybrit.Owner-trainer Bill Durkan runs topweight Holy See but he also has Eagle Fang, under one of the country’s leading amateurs Johnny Barry. He won at Killarney last time and is having a first handicap start on the flat.Eagle Fang has plenty of experience of big field handicapping from the jumps, however, and in a typically competitive renewal of the €110,000 highlight he may represent a touch of betting value.