Cloudy Tuesday opened his 'track' account in style as he ran out a convincing winner of the Templemore Maiden Hunters Chase at Thurles.

Trainer/jockey Turlough O'Connor was always prominent on the 11/4 shot and he took over jumping the third last fence in the three-miler.

The son of Cloudings was asked for an effort after the next and galloped on strongly down the straight to record a comprehensive nine-and-a-half length win over 11/10 favourite Saint Benedict

The winner had won a point-to-point at Dromahane in November and was third to Staker Wallace on his racecourse bow at Limerick over Christmas.

O'Connor was recording his first success under rules since Harry The Lemmon won at Cork almost five years ago and he said:-

"That's my third winner on the track as a jockey, I have also ridden 16 point to point winners, and that's my second as a trainer.

"He is a homebred, is very tough and would go around again. He is only a handy horse but is a good little leaper and is as tough as you'd get. He has a fair engine, he can go a gallop and stay at it.

"His owners wanted to keep him point to pointing but he'd make a nice little hurdler too. Every day he has run he has run a cracker.

"I have 22 or 23 horses, mostly point to pointers, and am based in Newmarket, Co Cork."

(Quotes by Tom Weekes)