FREESCAPE rounded off the year at Dundalk with a seventh course victory when claiming the featured €22,000 10-furlong handicap last Friday night.

May Night set a strong pace in the race and Luke McAteer was the only one to keep tabs on the front-runner. After taking over turning for home Freescape maintained the advantage over the rest of the field and galloped on strongly from the furlong pole to register a four-length win.

Marnane said: “He would have been favourite if he hadn’t run the last day (finished eighth). He kind of clipped heels and whether he just got a bit unbalanced or whatever, I don’t know.

“We decided to run a bit more positively tonight and the fractions looked good at halfway, so we’re delighted. We were in the right place.

“He’ll have one more run here and he’ll get an entry in the Winter Derby. It has been transferred this year to Southwell from Lingfield. Southwell will suit him better than Lingfield.”

Another horse developing a real love for the track is the Paul Flynn-trained Cheers Again, who made it three from three at the course in the mile apprentice rated race.

Jack Cleary had to wait for a gap on the 4/1 favourite after finding the door closed over a furlong-and-a-half from home. He got a run a furlong out to record a cosy length-and-a-quarter success over Barbapapa.

“We had awful problems with allergies last year and, in fairness, his owner John (Raymond Eastwood) is very patient,” said Flynn. “He does like the surface but I don’t think it is essential, he had a great run in a premier handicap at Cork last year.”

Riyami is now two from two over the two-mile trip at the track following a convincing win under Joey Sheridan.

He produced the Denis Hogan-trained gelding to lead under two furlongs from home and the 6/1 shot looked in control in the closing stages as he beat Folly Beach by a length.

Hogan said: “The last day the trip beat us and he was unlucky. He is a hard ride over a mile and a half because you need them to go very hard and they didn’t.

“It was lovely tonight and brilliant for this man (owner Patrick John O’Brien), it is his first runner and he only got his colours yesterday. He’s only 18 and he has just come from doing his exams today.”

Salah springs shock in opener

SHEILA Lavery’s Salah Belle went to post a 33/1 shot on her racecourse bow in the opening six-furlong maiden but proved a cosy winner.

Robbie Colgan produced his mount to challenge between horses a furlong out and the Calyx filly soon hit the front, holding the late run of Hemight be three quarters of a length.

Lavery said: “She’s a filly that had a little setback in the spring, but I’m just delighted with her. She just wants to please, a great attitude.

“She is small and speedy, and I think there is more to come because I don’t think she even knew that she had a race.”

The following seven-furlong Gateway Hotel Maiden also went to a big priced winner but there was money around for the Tom Gibney-trained Nahori.

She was supported from 66/1 into 18/1 and came with a strong run inside the final furlong to score by two and a quarter lengths under Robert Whearty.

The former Godolphin filly cost 17,000gns at the July Sales and Gibney revealed: “Kevin (Haigney) spotted her - she had her problems over there and they didn’t get her to the track.

“We said we would give it a go training her and if we got her there, great, and if we didn’t, Kevin was keen to breed from the family anyway. He is already breeding from her sister (Atavique).”

Another filly to gain a valuable win on the card was the Moyglare-owned Cara Susanna in the second division of the mile-and-a-half handicap.

The Tamayuz filly is out of Group 2 Ribblesdale winner Irresistible Jewel, making her a half-sister to Irish St Leger winner Royal Diamond and another Ribblesdale winner Princess Highway.

Racing off a lowly mark of 62 on her seventh career outing, the Dermot Weld-trained filly got a strong drive from Chris Hayes to lead in the closing stages and score by three quarters of a length at odds of 10/1.

Hayes said: “We fancied her here the last day and I don’t know what got into her, she reared up and hit me in the face coming out of the gates and got left.

“The boss did a lot of work with her this week, so it is nice to get rewarded for it. She is going to be going to the covering shed but, when she is in the form she is in, we might go again.”

LAURA Hourigan made it two winners from two runners this month when Unterberg won the first division of the mile-and-a-half handicap.

Oisin McSweeney had won on Notforalongtime for the Limerick handler earlier in the month and was also on board the 13/2 shot.

He came with a strong run on the near side to lead in the closing stages and post a half length win over Spinning Web.

The winning rider said: “He has galloped all the way to the line for me, Laura said she had done plenty of work with him at home. He jumps a hurdle too, so he was going to see it out well.”

Earlier on the card Shane Foley got the fractions right as Little Keilee recorded a gutsy front-running win in the seven-furlong handicap for the Athlone-based Slum Dog Racing Syndicate.

The 4/1 favourite stuck on well in the closing stages to post a half length win over the staying-on Skontonovski. Trainer Ciaran Murphy said afterwards: “I think ‘Dusty’ got it very right this evening, we just said we would keep it simple and have a good go at it.

“In fairness to the filly, she produced the goods as well.”