MARSH Wren (9/4) was a rare British runner at Thurles on Thursday where the Stuart Edmonds-trained mare landed the Listed Carey Glass Irish EBF Colreevy Chase to provide Wicklow native jockey Ciaran Gethings with a first Irish winner.

The front-running eight-year-old mare had won five of her previous seven races and today fought off a strong Irish challenge of runner-up Law Ella and third-placed Harmonya Maker to score a battling success.

Edmonds, who won the 2017 Kim Muir Chase at Cheltenham, wasn’t present and afterwards delighted Gethings reported: “She is hardy and tough but rubbed a couple of fences early as they are stiffer in Ireland but she is a clever mare.

“I tried to turn it into a test of stamina. We were trapping coming down to the last so I was praying to meet it on a stride and she did. She never wins pretty but there won’t be too many to out-battle her so it is great.

Some buzz

“That was some buzz and fair play to Stuart and Ben Turner, the owner, and fair play to everybody for putting their hands in their pockets and coming over.

“She has an entry at Cheltenham, but that is only if we get a deluge of rain and is only a chance entry to be honest.”

He added: “I’m from Tinahely (Co Wicklow) and moved over to England when I was 16. I spent six years with Philip Hobbs before moving to Tom George’s and have been with Stuart for a long, long time now. I live in Cheltenham and this is my first Irish winner.”

The Charles Byrnes-trained Madge A Chroi attracted some market support in the concluding Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Bumper and despite being returned 14/1, had been 50/1 in the morning.

Ridden by Ray Barron the Shantou-mare improved from mid-field to lead a furlong out and beat Lady Gooner by three and a half lengths.

Byrnes said: “She is a granddaughter of Cailin Alainn (dual Grade 1 winner) who we had great days with and her same owner John O’Mahony has been with me a long time.

“We were happy with her run the first day, but the race has been working out unbelievably bad. There was a lot of talk for a couple of fancied runners in today’s race, but the owners still had a few quid each-way on so it was grand.

“She was eligible for the EBF 5,000 bonus today and we’ll now have to consider going for another bumper and wait to go hurdling next season.”

FEATURE race of the day was the Grade 3 BoyleSports Michael Purcell Memorial Novice Hurdle and was won by the Willie Mullins-trained, Paul Townend-partnered Largy Hill (10/3), for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede.

The Flemensfirth-sired winner led entering the home straight and eventually quickened away from his rivals to beat Staffordshire Knot by four lengths.

Mullins reported: “Largy Hill did everything right and that was a good effort. You could see his jumping was that of an ex-point-to-pointer, compared to Stoke The Fire (stablemate, finished third) who was novicey and What Path (fourth) jumped a bit left.

“I was very happy with Stoke The Fire and that will bring him on hugely. The winner is a big chasing type and it is nice to win a prize like this. I doubt he’ll go to Cheltenham and will wait until Fairyhouse instead.”

The only winning favourite on the card was the Jonathan Sweeney-trained Rushmount (10/11) who landed the I.N.H. Stallion Owners EBF Maiden Hurdle under Michael O’Sullivan.

Returning from a break, Rushmount easily beat Find A Fortune by eight lengths with Sweeney later saying: “I’m delighted with him and delighted for his owners, the Moakleys, who, when I was 16, I did four or five seasons with Paddy (Moakley).

“He’s a homebred and hopefully now will build on that. The plan had been to go to Leopardstown over Christmas, but then he had a setback coming up to it. In fairness to the owners they have been patient with him and he is a nice horse.”

Smallcraftwarning produced the biggest shock of the day when running out a 40/1 winner of the Connolly’s Red Mills Ladies Handicap Hurdle for Evanna McCutcheon and jockey Toni Quail.

McCutcheon later reported “His form went downhill last year, but won a schooling race so I said I’d leave him off and bring him back.

“His first run back last year was his best run, so I was happy that he would run well fresh today. He was in a field at Christmas, but is easy to get fit. I said to Toni going out ‘what will be will be’ and she gave him a brilliant ride.

“We’re in this grade, but she is a fun horse for Nick (O’Neill), my father-in-law to be.”

AMATEUR rider Luke Burke-Ott registered a first career winner in the BoyleSports Qualified Riders Handicap Chase, scoring on Pana To Milan (12/1) for trainer Michael Winters and the Leave Him Alone Syndicate.

The winner was well in control when he pecked on landing jumping the final fence and he had easily enough to hold off runner-up Moonlight Getaway by six lengths.

Burke-Ott, 18, later commented: “I ride out regularly for Mick (Winters) and the race worked out almost exactly how I had planned it in my head, so it was great.”

Winters added “This mare has been fancied all her life, so we were sick of following her. We jumped her over fences two days ago when the young fella (Burke-Ott) rode her and this was his first ride over fences on the track.

“Luke has a future if he can get out there and be riding plenty of work - he schooled the other day with Mikey O’Connor, Chris O’Donovan and other experienced lads.

“We ourselves moved to my late uncle’s place recently and are finally finishing up the move this summer. We will be more low-key and have a permit in the future and have no choice as the bad point-to-pointers are worth nothing.

“We have very few horses for anything but there is beauty in having a permit as you can swap out the bad ones. I’d say my daughter, Laurie, will eventually take out the permit in time and between herself and my son, Timmy, there’s enough for both.”

Racing began with the www.thurlesraces.ie Handicap Chase, which was won by Punchestown Festival-bound Dancing Jeremy (9/2), for owner Frank Reynolds, jockey Donagh Meyler and trainer James Fahey.

Fahey commented: “He is qualified for the Full Circle Series Final at the Punchestown Festival and I don’t really want to go back over hurdles before then.

“We were taking a chance running him over two miles, but there was plenty pace in the race, he jumped well and saw it out. We’ll pick another race for him and his main aim is the race at Punchestown.”