It wasn't a day of close finishes at the Curragh and 10/3 favourite Facethepuckout fairly routed his nineteen rivals in the Hollywoodbets Best Odds Guaranteed Handicap.

Colin Keane, levelling matters with Bill Lee in the jockeys' title race at 81 winners apiece, was on board the six-year-old who was better away from stalls than is often the case. He made smooth headway from mid-division to lead over two furlongs out and soon had the race in safe keeping. Six lengths was the margin of victory over The Mpex Kid with Bellick and Flier filling the frame.

The winner's last win had been by the same margin over three years ago at the Listowel festival of 2019 and he was having his second start since returning to trainer Michael O'Callaghan after a fruitless spell with Leanne Breen.

“My wife Siobhan owns him, she was mad about him and she saw him in a claimer a few months ago at Dundalk. He ran average there and he wasn't claimed so we bought him off Leanne (Breen) afterwards,” said O'Callaghan.

“I kinda had in my head that she was buying him to retire him as a pet but we stuck him back into the routine to lead a few two-year-olds and it sweetened him up.

“He's back in as good of order as ever and he was well handicapped on his old form.

“The way he was working at home and the way he ran the last day it was nice to see him go and do that.

Quotes from Gary Carson