THERE’S nothing more heart-warming than to witness an older horse that has scaled the heights on the racecourse show his younger rivals a clean pair of heels and that’s precisely what occurred in Dromahane as It Came To Pass posted a scintillating display to win the open under his handler Eugene O’Sullivan’s 17-year-old nephew Alan O’Sullivan.

The 2020 Cheltenham Foxhunters winner It Came To Pass (4/6 - 4/5 favourite), having beat A Rated here the previous Sunday, cruised into the lead at the fourth last of the 14 obstacles.

La Feline was soon in pursuit but she was always going to come off second best after the winning son of Brian Boru sealed victory with a spectacular leap two out.There was a length between the front two at the line while Act Of Time posted his best effort for quite some time by returning a further four lengths adrift in third.

“I’m delighted for Alan, he had a long wait for his start, but he is making plenty of use of it now,” reported the elder O’Sullivan. He then added: “I might now enter It Came To Pass in the Jack Tyner Memorial Hunters Chase at Cork on Easter Monday and it’s a pity that his owners Alurie and Gerald O’Sullivan couldn’t get over from Manchester for today’s race.”

Outstanding

Harley Dunne experienced an outstanding afternoon by sending out an across-the-card three-timer, partnering two of his horses to victory at Tattersalls, and the owner/trainer was on the mark with Genietoile (3/1 - 4/1) in the four-year-old maiden here.

The Spider Flight-sired Genietoile, who still held prospects when falling two out in the Tinahely race won by Idalko Bihoue in late February, was sent to the front by Tiernan Power at the fifth fence and he was tracked by Trooper Thorn and Illico Du Breuil from after four out.

El Saviour moved through to give chase after two out, but he didn’t aid his cause by erring at the last and he couldn’t get closer than a length to the winner. Genietoile is now likely to be sold and the bay is out of a half-sister to listed-placed hurdler Tanerko Emery.

Colin Bowe and Barry O’Neill combined to collect the five-year-old geldings’ maiden with Ballyvodock debut third Castleward (3/1 - 7/2).

On an excellent afternoon for front-runners, Castleward moved into pole position from the fifth-fence and he gave an assured round of fencing in front. It was plainly apparent that the winning son of Notnowcato had too much for his rivals from after three out as he coasted clear to account for Genietoile’s stable-companion Galloping Pride by eight lengths.

“He has improved from Ballyvodock, he loved the ground here today and he’ll now go to a sale,” said Bowe of the Michael Cave-owned Castleward, a €20,000 foal acquisition that’s out of a half-sister to another ex-pointer in Willie Mullins’ former top-class dual-purpose campaigner Clondaw Warrior.

MIKEY O’Connor was the only rider to depart with a double and the north Corkonian will have attained immense satisfaction from his success aboard the gambled-on Nice To Meet (3/1 – 5/4 favourite) in the concluding adjacent hunts maiden as he also trains the winning son of Sans Frontieres for Greg Coleman.

Ex-hurdler Nice To Meet, who was set to finish second to Plan B but for cruelly falling at the last fence in a Liscarroll winners contest last month, was bounced out in pole position and he was always travelling well within himself. He saw off the challenge of Churchtown Queen, who had momentarily assumed the lead at the second last, and it was three lengths back to the eventual second Must Have Hope at the line.

O’Connor opened his account aboard owner/trainer Terence Leonard’s Moviddy (3/1 - 4/1) in the five and six-year-old mares’ maiden, the race that attracted the biggest field of the afternoon in 13 runners.

Moviddy, shaped nicely on her debut when third to Annie Magic at Thurles, set off in front and jumped beautifully.

The winning daughter of Urban Poet, acquired by Leonard as a foal, was travelling marginally better than runner-up Masked Artist on the run to the last with a length the ultimate winning margin.

Five-horse handler Leonard, who combined with Mikey O’Connor to record a double at Ballynoe last month with Koyote winning the featured Gain Mares’ Final, will now offer Moviddy at next week’s Tattersalls Ireland sale at Cheltenham.

THE Sam Curling-trained Susie Miller (2/1 - 5/2) returned from a mid-season break to register a third success of the campaign under regular partner Derek O’Connor in the mares’ winners-of-two.

Patiently ridden, the hooded Susie Miller had to chart a couple of different courses throughout the race, and she was still last with only four fences remaining as Alloverafiver took over in front.

The eventual winner touched down in second over the final fence and she took the measure of Gain Mares’ Final runner-up Fiery Brown inside the final 50 yards to score by a snug half-length.

There was a stewards’ enquiry called in relation to possible interference, but there was no alteration to the result.

In Curling’s absence, O’Connor suggested that the Ann Cahalan-owned Susie Miller could now contest next month’s Tipperary mares’ point-to-point bumper.

Horse to Follow

El Saviour (M. Murphy): This newcomer by El Salvador, whose dam is a half-sister to dual Grade 1 hurdle winner Straw Bear, didn’t aid his cause by blundering at the last in the four-year-old maiden when beaten a length into second. Compensation should be attained.