Admiral strikes on debut for de Bromhead

Indian Admiral (14s in early shows, returned 5/1) ran out a good winner of the Galway Handicap Hurdle, scoring on his debut for Henry de Bromhead.

Previously trained in the UK by Mark Johnston and more recently by James Lambe, the son of Sepoy was last seen finishing down the field at Navan in September of 2020.

Having raced mainly in third under Darragh O'Keeffe, the six-year-old improved to lead from the second last and soon went a few lengths clear.

He was pushed out on the run-in and came home three lengths to the good in the colours of the Mighty Mac Syndicate. Fair Minded (10s early, returned 11/2) who won this race twelve months ago, came through to take second under Simon Torrens for Des McDonogh, while Kate Ill Know (7/1) was another four-and-a-quarter lengths back in third. Future Romance was sent off favourite, drifting from 11/10 this morning to a starting price of 15/8. She eventually finished a disappointing fifth.

O'Keeffe said in the aftermath: "That was his first run for Henry and had been placed in a couple of maiden hurdles before. He travelled great, it was pretty straightforward and he jumped well and galloped well to the line.

"For a lad who ran on the flat, he is a big scopey horse and it is great to get his head in front."

Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes