Place prevails in mares maiden

The Mark Fahey-trained Place Des Vosges found plenty on the run-in to land the spoils in the mares maiden hurdle at Thurles.

6/4 favourite Botani cut out the running in the two-mile contest and looked to be going best away from the second last.

Ricky Doyle drove Place Des Vosges up to dispute before the final flight, however, and the Rip Van Winkle mare stayed on best in the closing stages.

The 4/1 shot recorded a three-parts-of-a-length verdict at the line. The winner had chased home Champagne Gold at Wexford on her most recent start, 11 days ago.

Fahey said:- "It probably wasn't the strongest maiden hurdle as you hadn't Willie (Mullins), Gordon (Elliott), Joseph (O'Brien) or Noel Meade.

"She is a good flat performer and I can't see her going on real heavy ground so she might go for a break and come back in the spring.

"The North County Syndicate enjoy her and Andrew and Lar Kelly from Baltinglass get good craic out of her too. Ricky gave her a great ride.

"Her jumping was a bit slicker than at Wexford, she was very quick over the last, and she is a nice one to look forward to. We'll see what the handicapper does with her."

(Quotes by Tom Weekes)