TRAINER Charles Byrnes and sons, jockey Philip and owner Cathal, combined for Sligo doubles, which were completed when well-backed I Am Spider Man (9/4 favourite) landed the Kevin Egan Cars Commercial Vehicle Range Handicap Hurdle.

Rider Byrnes confidently improved I Am Spider Man from rear-division to lead approaching the last, as they beat Hypersonic Missile by six lengths.

Trainer Byrnes revealed: “The horses are in great form and luckily Philip was able to ride them today as, against my advice, he recently appealed against an eight-day (careless riding) suspension and won. This horse was brought to a standstill at Ballinrobe when a horse fell in front of him and Philip didn’t abuse him afterwards. It took him a while to find his stride, but he was off a nice mark. He has the same mark over fences so that’s another option.”

Avoiding interference

Kendancer (11/4 favourite) had been the Byrnes’ first winner when adding the Knocknarea Opportunity Claiming Hurdle to a similar success at Limerick last month. Racing mid-division and avoiding three fallers at the third-last flight, Kendancer improved to lead at the next and was ridden out to beat Broken Ice by one and a quarter lengths.

The eight-year-old went unclaimed, with runner-up Broken Ice the only horse to change hands, having been claimed by John McConnell for €8,000.

Jockey Philip Byrnes: “These claimers are great because there is usually plenty of pace to aim at, but obviously there was a pace collapse after three out. I’d have preferred a lead for longer, but he got there well and got the job done.”

ANDYOURBIRDCANSING (6/1) landed the Hazelwood Mares Maiden Hurdle to continue owner/trainer John Ryan and jockey Shane Fitzgerald’s good form. The 90-rated daughter of Court Cave made all and held the challenge of Sainte Baol by three-quarters of a length.

Fitzgerald commented: “She dug deep and stayed going really well to the line. John’s given me plenty of support over the years and I’m very grateful for it.”

Millar’s trouble

Sainte Baol’s rider Carl Millar was found to have breached the whip regulations and, with it being his third such offence, was suspended for twenty racedays.

There was a happier outcome for Millar in the first division of the Lake Isle Of Innisfree Handicap Hurdle as he produced Verbal Sparring (7/2 favourite) to lead on the run-in for a half-length success over Boston Bobby. 

Winning trainer Dessie McDonogh said: “Carl gave him a very polished ride and got some lovely jumps out of him, which had maybe cost him a couple of races at Naas. The only worry was that the ground had dried so much, because he’s definitely a better horse on softer ground. He deserved to get his head in front and I’m delighted for his owners Phil Dillon and his wife Bridget.”

Second division

The second division of that 2m 2f handicap went to The Truant (4/1 joint-favourite) who was registering a second career success after a win on the flat at this venue last summer when under the care of Peter Fahey. 

Owned by the Thirteen Apostles Racing Syndicate, the grey raced prominently under Kevin Sexton and scored by half a length from Belgoprince.

Winning trainer Paul Flynn said: “Kevin knew this horse from Peter’s and gave him a great ride. The boys want to go to Galway and we’ll try to get into the 0-109 there, but he’ll probably have to win another race to get in.”

PETER Fahey got on the scoresheet himself, when Koori Star followed up February’s point-to-point success at Tallow, when landing the RSS Record Storage Service Opportunity Maiden Hurdle on Rules debut. 

The Alkaadhem gelding carried the colours of the Wear The Fox Hat Syndicate and defied his 14/1 price when coming from off the pace to readily account for Break The Boundary by eight lengths. 

Jockey Jake Coen said: “For a horse that point-to-pointed, he was green but picked up well, and I think he’ll be a fine horse, especially when he goes up in trip”

Ending the spell

Veteran The Dabbler (14/1) ended a long losing spell when landing the Glasshouse Hotel (Q.R.) Handicap Hurdle for jockey Ross Berry.

Owned by Michael Heery and trained by Liam Cusack, the 11-year-old had won consecutive chases in 2021 and came from well back in the field to register a first success over the smaller obstacles, defeating Solo Flight by four and a half lengths. 

Jockey Berry, son of trainer John Berry, said: “That’s my third winner under Rules and I’ve ridden four point-to-point winners. I’m doing the course next week and will be turning professional. I’m going to be based with Colm Murphy and am looking forward to it.”

Ellen’s improvement

Ellen Kelly (10/11 favourite) improved on her runner-up debut effort at Downpatrick last month to impressively win the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Bumper for Willie and Patrick Mullins and owners Syndicates Racing. The Westerner five-year-old quickened clear in the home straight to beat Wild Mandate by 12 lengths.

Rider Mullins reported: “Downpatrick is a hard place to win first time out with all the ups and downs and she improved a lot for the experience. She settled well off a stronger gallop here and loved that nice ground. I was pleasantly surprised by how she picked up so if she can improve again from that, they’re going to have an awful lot of fun with her.”