Double for Mullins as Connaught eases to victory

The 11/10 favourite Connaught Manor ran out a convincing winner of the roscommonracecourse.ie bumper over 2m 4f providing his trainer Willie Mullins with a double on the card (took the second with Letherbelucky .

Ridden by Patrick Mullins, the 7yo son of Pilsudski was making his debut this evening and he chased the leaders early on before closing from over four furlongs out.

He hit the front in the early straight and despite briefly looking vulnerable, he drew clear under pressure to assert in the final furlong, going on to win easily by fourteen lengths.

The Kieran Purcell trained newcomer Top Cat Henry (5/1 into 10/3 on-course) finished second under Joe Burns while Really Smart was a further twenty two lengths back in third for Patrick Carey and Damien Skehan at 20/1.

Winning rider Patrick Mullins said afterwards: "He's a 7yo and he has had a lot of problems. He is owned and bred by Kevin O'Brien and he has had a lot of luck with the family.

"All I was trying to do during the race was to get him to settle as he can be a bit keen. He will probably go two and a half to three miles over hurdles and he would like better ground.

"Being a 7yo he will probably go over hurdles sooner rather than later but there is a chance he could go for a bumper at Galway."

The winner is a half-brother to Storm Damage who won three on the level in the nineties for Ger Hourigan and seven over jumps for Paul Nicholls.

He is also a half-brother to Templers Hall (also owned and bred by Kevin O’Brien) who won four times, one point-to-point and three chases on the track for Willie Mullins.

There was a nasty incident four furlongs from home where Lismacbryan Sue slipped up and brought down both Thunder Hill and Jog Along Jack

Graham Watters rider of Thunder Hill was brought to Hospital for x-rays on his wrist while Alan Doyle rider of Lismacbryan Sue has soft tissue damage.

Robert Geoghegan rider of Jog Along Jack was fine after the incident.

(On-course reporting by Alan Magee)