Acleanpairofhooves wins after a long duel

Acleanpairofhooves came out on the right side of a battle with Bella Bliss in the bumper at Kilbeggan.

The pair had the race to themselves in the final furlong and it was Jody Townend who drove her mount up by a head at the post.

The son of Epsom Derby winner Pour Moi was returned at 3/1 from the 11/4 runner-up. Each-way backers got a return from 28/1 shot Battling Bay who was seven lengths off this battle.

Trainer Bill Farrell said: “He's a project, he came to us very late.

“He has a smart Flat pedigree but we said we'd go down this route first because he was a little bit buzzy and we said we'd let him relax.

“He'll probably end up on the Flat. He's a smart little horse, he'd hate that ground tonight and he was very brave.

“He improved a lot from the last day and was given a terrific ride. It's always a terrific ride when they win and terrific training performance as well!

“We'll let him have a break now, fill up again and go from there.”

Additional reporting by Gary Carson