China Princess returned from a 284 days absence to win the opening division of the ESET Ireland (Mares) Handicap Hurdle at Wexford today, scoring for Grade 1 winning pair, trainer Peter Fahey and jockey Kevin Sexton,

Both Fahey and Sexton combined for Cheltenham and Aintree festivals heroics with Belfast Banter in recent months and today returned China Princess to form on her reappearance, as the seven year old mare beat Rebel Ivy by a length and a half.

Afterwards Sexton revealed “to me, the ground is the same everywhere. The old ground is on the outside so I just went the shortest way around. She stuck to it well and things opened up fairly quick in front of her down the inner.

"She was a bit novicey early on, she still has a bit to learn in her jumping, but the further she went the better she got. Hopefully she will keep improving.

"She had been disappointing. She got a bad fall with me in Ballinrobe and pulled up the next day, that probably set her back a bit but she seems to be back on the right road now."

Quotes from Donal Murphy