Afram Blue (25/1 but paid 191.70 on the Tote) got in as a reserve into the second at Down Royal and duly took the opportunity by battling on best to prevail under Ian McCarthy (got a 1 day ban for excessive frequency with his whip).

Maura McGuinness trains the dual flat winner on the level cross-channel for the Galapagos Syndicate and she said: "Who would have thought that he'd get a run?

"We got a call at 2.30 to say that he was in. I didn't expect a win from him and I actually fancied the other one, Kyoto Summit who finished 12th.

"He loved the ground and the distance here. He ran quite well over a mile and six at Wexford and that brought him on.

"The owners would like to go to the Galway Festival and he'll go for something before then too."