Mark Nunan
Annie Pender makes all for O'Regan
Annie Pender and Denis O'Regan jump the last
© Photo Healy Racing
Annie Pender (11/4) made all to take the John Lynch Memorial Maiden Hurdle by a length and a quarter from Gevrey (6/1).
Denis O’Regan good a round of jumping out of Michael Ryan’s homebred daughter of Footstepsinthesand, who’d been placed a couple of times over hurdles and had evidently come on from her comeback fourth to Red Gerry at Punchestown earlier in the month.
The 5/6 Favourite Hammersmith finished in fourth.
Winning trainer John Queally said: "She had a winter's racing behind her last year but was a bit difficult and was free and keen.
"She is starting to relax now and she jumped super.
"She has that done and I think there's a winners' hurdle at Wexford in a month's time and while I could also look at a flat handicap, I want to keep her mind on the jumping game because she was so keen coming off the flat and it might undo it all again."
Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes