PADDY Smullen, son of the late Pat Smullen, rode his first winner aboard Grappa Nonino in the Every Cheltenham Festival Race Live Only On Racing TV (Q.R.) Handicap at Dundalk - the same racecourse his father rode his first winner on.

The 20/1 shot raced off the pace and stayed on into fifth approaching the final furlong. He found plenty in the closing stages to pick up the lead and forged on by a length and a half for trainer Dermot Weld and owner Colvin G Ryan.

Smullen (17) said: “It is amazing really. It doesn’t feel real to get my first winner at the same track as my dad did, and for the trainer he rode so many winners for.

“A great big thank you to Mr Weld. He has given me two chances now and I’m happy to have repaid him. For a trainer, it is not easy to give a rider with such little experience rides, so I am grateful to him and his family.”

Titanium Emperor (4/1) put in a taking debut performance in the William Hill Top Price Guarantee Patton Race over a mile.

The Night Of Thunder colt disputed throughout, with 1/4 favourite Mount Kilimanjaro and kicked on a furlong and a half down. He increased the advantage in the final furlong and skipped home by three lengths in the hands of David Egan in the Amo Racing Limited silks.

Adrian Murray said: “We have always thought a lot about him. We did stick him in at the deep end, but he didn’t let us down.

“Maybe the Tetrarch Stakes at the Curragh next. We will take him in steps. I’d say 10 (furlongs) and I’d say he would get a mile and a half.”

Options open

Murray and Egan were on the mark earlier with Valiant Force (8/11 favourite) in the William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Race for Amo Racing Limited and Giselle De Aguiar.

This was a step up in trip to a mile for the four-year-old colt and he readily picked off front-running San Andreas a furlong and a half out. Egan sent him about his business and he strode away by four and a quarter lengths.

“Very impressed with that, he put it to bed very early,” Murray said. “It was a fact-finding mission for him today, but we thought with pedigree that he is bred to be a miler. We have no real plans, everything is opening up for us – six, seven or eight furlongs.”

Happy owner

Amemri (11/2) sealed her Polytrack hat-trick with a half-length success in the Dundalk Winter Series Leading Trainer & Jockey Championship Handicap. Luke McAteer produced her to challenge in the final furlong and she hit the front with 150 yards to go, before seeing it out best from Pink Oxalis.

Trainer David Marnane said: “She is progressive, she is a grand filly and she keeps my missus happy (Melanie Marnane, owner)!

“I guess she is in the finals here, so hopefully she will come back for that. She actually has good form on the turf as well. It is just that we haven’t run her much on it. She won in Listowel and Limerick.”

Velvet Skies prevailed by a short head after a battle with Rattletheonionbag in the Floodlit Friday Nights At Dundalk Stadium Handicap.

The horses bumped with each other in the closing stages, which led to a stewards’ enquiry, however, the result stood.

After Billy Lee, in Frank McNulty’s colours, returned on the 9/2 winner, trainer Mick Mulvany said: “He was hitting the goalpost here and the last day he missed the break a bit. He came out well today.

“Hopefully, we have kind of got the secret of him now and it will be onwards and upwards.”

NICOLA Burns booted home another winner on Dromore Glory in the DundalkStadium.com Apprentice Handicap for Paul Flynn and owner Thomas Lynam.

The even-money favourite tracked the leaders and travelled well to lay down his challenge two furlongs out. He soon had a share of the lead and went on over a furlong out. Burns drove him home by half a length from Slowdownbarney.

Flynn said: “He likes it up here and probably not as good on the turf. If he (handicapper) left him at 50 on the turf, he might just get through one!”

Enough is enough

Rory Cleary pinched the William Hill Proper Pricing Handicap off the front on Enough Already (15/2).

The pair moved clear after three furlongs and held a massive advantage at the halfway stage. The lead was reduced by the pursuers in the final furlong, but Enough Already held on to post victory by half a length for owner Julie Frankham.

Ado McGuinness said: “He poached a good lead and, I don’t know, did the boys sit too far back off him? Maybe, but a win is a win.

“I thought the other fella, Comfort Line (stablemate and runner-up), would run well off the bottom weight.

“I knew turning in they weren’t going to get to this fella and he’s not a bad horse.”

Outsider obliges

Weegeebear was the 40/1 outsider of eight horses in the Irishinjuredjockeys.com Claiming Race, but it didn’t prevent him running on strongly to score for owner/trainer Cormac Farrell.

He raced towards the rear and was ridden into contention by Keithen Kennedy at the two pole. The Kodi Bear gelding took over inside the final furlong and raced away by two and three-quarter lengths.

Kennedy said: “I dropped him in and took my time, they went hard out in front and they set the race up for me really. Little bit off the bridle turning in, and he got going and picked up and did it well.”

The winner was claimed by Mark Devlin to be trained by Ado McGuinness, while fourth-placed Captain Ciano was claimed by Peter McArdle to be trained by Tom McCourt.