Rioga Choice routs maiden rivals under Blackmore

The Henry De Bromhead trained Rioga Choice made short work of her rivals when running away with the Curraghboy Maiden Hurdle at Roscommon.

Rachael Blackmore tracked clear leader Astrophysicist for much of the contest, before sweeping to the head of affairs on the turn into the straight.

Quickly opening up a gap on the field, Rioga Choice was chased by Come On Du Berlais on the run down to the second last flight. However, it soon became clear that there was only going to be one winner, as Blackmore allowed her mount stride on powerfully.

Good jumps at the final two hurdles saw the Gold Cup winning rider ease Rioga Choice right down inside the final half furlong.

“It was a lovely performance. The ground was maybe just too quick for her the last day in Bellewstown,” said Blackmore.

“She really enjoyed that surface today. She's a lovely mare, John Lenihan owns her and he always thought she was nice so it's great to get her head in front.

“We were hoping she'd be able to do that.”

Additional reporting by Gary Carson