Irish Poli proved a popular winner of the Ballymore Handicap Hurdle as the French-bred carried the colours of Kilbeggan chairman Paul Daly.

The Pat Martin-trained gelding hit the front just after the second last and stuck to his guns well.

He was pressed in the closing stages by Canitellyou but always had enough up his sleeve to score by half a length under Andrew Thornton.

"That's great for us. Paul is the chairman here so we are delighted," said Martin afterwards.

"It's a double edged sword as he loves to have a horse run well here but hates to have a horse run badly. So we're always selective about what we run.

"He's a local councillor and has been a lucky owner for me as he also owns Lucky At Last.

"This horse is very consistent and was just chinned at Bellewstown last time. He has an entry for next Tuesday but we'll have to see about that.

"He's tough and versatile and goes on most ground. We'll keep mixing it."