Neville eyes Galway Plate for Portrait

Shesaportrait produced a fine front-running performance to come home a cosy winner of the concluding McSweeney Arms Hotel 65th Novice Chase at Killarney this evening.

It was a quick double for jockey Mark Enright as he bounced the 3/1 joint-favourite out in front in the 2m6f event and made every yard.

Her rivals were stacked up behind her turning for home but the Paddy Neville-trained mare asserted before the final fence and could afford to ease down in the closing stages to score by five-and-a-half lengths.

Horendus Hulabaloo who had given chase for much, held on for second from Railway Zira The other market leader Bridgets Pet finished a well-beaten fifth of the six runners.

Shesaportrait was following up her win in a mares chase at Limerick in May.

"She's a very good mare and we're lucky to have her and hopefully she'll get into the bottom (of the weights) of the Galway Plate," said Neville.

"I think a lot of her and at the start of the year was hoping to go for the Galway Plate but fellas were telling me I was mad!

"She had great form though and it has been holding up all the time and I just hope she is high enough to sneak into the Plate."

(Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes)