Well-backed Villa takes the last for Hogan

The well-backed Island Villa justified odds-on favouritism as he took the last at Clonmel this evening, the Mylerstown Maiden Hurdle, scoring for trainer/rider Denis Hogan.

The five-year-old son of Turtle Island just failed to peg back Tawseef at Sligo on his last run and having started at 11/8 this morning he opened on-course the 9/10 favourite before being backed into 4/6 at the off.

Getting off the mark over hurdles this evening on his fourteenth start he made all.

He was strongly pressed from two out but he kept on well under pressure away from the last, going on to score by a length and a quarter. Attraction Ticket ran a cracker to take second at 20/1 under Shane Butler for Peter Fahey while Crown Theatre who touched evens this morning, was a further length and a half back in third under Jamie Codd for Gordon Elliott at 7/4.

Denis Hogan said afterwards: "He deserved that. He has gone up in the handicap but he seems to have turned a corner and he is improving. If there is an ease in the ground he might go to Listowel.

"I’d like to thank Lorcan Wyer (clerk of the course). They have done serious work to get the ground from firm to what it is today (good on the national hunt course). He is a top man at his job."

Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes