Rest of card

COLCANNON was a tasty winner for favourite backers in the concluding Grade 2 Paddy Power Play Card Bumper, running out a ready scorer under Derek O’Connor at 9/2 (having been backed from 12/1 to as short as 3/1 earlier in the day).

Noel Meade is now plotting a path towards the Grade 1 bumper at the Punchestown Festival for the Philip Meade Syndicate-owned homebred, who is not eligible for the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival due to having too many runs.

Sporting a hood for the first time, the length-and-a-half winner showed a sharp turn of foot to score comfortably from Sortudo, who ran with credit as the Willie Mullins stable’s second-string and briefly threatened to lose second when his rider briefly eased up early.

“We always thought this horse was fairly useful,” said Meade. “When he went to the Punchestown Festival last season and Sixandahalf beat him, we felt he was gone at that stage.

“The whole intention after he won his bumper was to go jumping with him, but the schooling just wasn’t going the way I wanted it to go. We’ll probably plan for Punchestown now.”

Dearg delivers

Paul Nolan doesn’t tend to have a huge number of runners at the Dublin Racing Festival but saddled his third winner at the ultra-competitive meeting since 2019 when An Peann Dearg (8/1) bolted up in the €100,000 Ryanair Handicap Chase under Sean O’Keeffe.

The rapidly-improving eight-year-old, owned by Anne Coffey, Susan Spence and Sonja Buckley, followed up a Christmas Festival win here off 6lb higher. This was a clear career-best as he readily pulled seven lengths clear of My Mate Mozzie, who made an encouraging reappearance of his own from a 125-day absence in second.

Nolan said: “He’s surprised us again today. He had been very frustrating but has found his way now. He now lives out in the field; that has been a help to him. He didn’t previously and was scoping poorly. Living outside must be a help to his health. Sean gave him a lovely ride. He might go to the Grand Annual at Cheltenham.”

Aintree plan

Perceval Legallois (15/2) is in the form of his life for Gavin Cromwell and continued a memorable meeting for the yard when capturing the €100,000 Race And Stay At Leopardstown Handicap Hurdle for J.P. McManus.

Reverting to an 18lb lower hurdles mark than when winning the Paddy Power Chase previously, he again benefited from an excellent Mark Walsh ride to get on top in the closing stages, edging out Gaoth Chuill by a length and a half.

“He loves Leopardstown,” said Cromwell. “You wouldn’t think he was after running over fences, he was very nimble over hurdles. Obviously, he was off a lower mark. I thought coming here that he was a better chaser than a hurdler, but he was good there and you can’t argue with that. He’s in the Grand National and sure you’d have to consider it now. It’s fantastic to have two winners today when we know how competitive it is here.”