Russell steers Clonalig House home

Clonalig House defied top weight of 11-12 to defeat his 17 rivals in the concluding two and a half mile handicap hurdle in Tipperary. Aurora's Dream moved into the lead at the fifth last and looked to make the best way home under Mark Flanagan.

However, he faced several challenges on the long run to the last and it was the closing Clonalig House who jumped that flight in fifth before powering home to win snugly under Davy Russell.

The winner's SP was 7/1 with runner-up Meadow Cross at 12/1. Aurora's Dream picked up third-placed money at 9/1 and Darkest Flyer (7/1) rounded out the places.

Handler Tony Martin said: "He's a big horse that took a long time to come to hand.

“He didn't jump well in his early days but seems to be getting it together now and that was a good performance.

“The horses are running better now. They ran well at Galway and we were delighted with them after that.”

Additional reporting by Gary Carson