CHAMPAYNE Lady was an impressive winner of the mares’ maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse on Wednesday.

She travelled well through her race, and she picked up nicely on the run-in to come away from Moonlight Escape on ground that trainer Alan Fleming thought might be softer than ideal for her.

The talk afterwards was of the mares’ novices’ hurdle at Cheltenham, and why not? A bumper winner, she had run well on her previous run at Fairyhouse three weeks earlier, this was a step up on that and she should continue to improve.

It was the latest episode in a fine run of form that Alan Fleming and owners Barry and Rory Connell are enjoying. Wood Emery was an impressive winner of the three-mile handicap hurdle at Punchestown on Sunday.

Well-backed and racing in a tongue-tie for the first time, the Califet gelding moved up nicely for Denis O’Regan at the top of the home straight to move into second place behind Swingbridge, and he picked up well on the run-in to come away and win nicely.

Hurricane Darwin ran well in the PP Hogan Chase on Sunday on his cross-country debut, Wonderoftheworld ran well for a long way in a good race at Musselburgh the previous Sunday on his first run since October, and go back to Leopardstown the previous Saturday, when Tully East ran a cracker to finish third in the big two-mile handicap chase over a distance that was probably shorter than ideal and on ground that was probably softer than ideal.

The yellow and navy silks could be in for a lively spring.