Jockey Byrnes takes a leaf out of Russell's book in Sligo Redwood Queen brought up plenty of bets when keeping on best in the Aidan Moffitt Memorial Handicap Hurdle over an extended 2m1f in Sligo. She was well punted from 10/3 to 5/4 favourite and was produced on the outer after the penultimate flight by Philip Byrnes. She got first run on the strong-travelling leader Skip Mahler who had just picked it up and led narrowly over the last. She stayed on along the run-in to hold fast-finishing Up And Out (16/1) by three-parts of a length. Skip Mahler (11/1) dropped half a length further back in third having had every chance on the run-in. Charles Byrnes' Redwood Queen bounced back from an unplaced run at Roscommon in June. This was her second career success over flights having scored at Cartmel in July last year when with Noel Kelly. Jockey Byrnes said: "She jumped well and travelled the whole way. The early pace was generous enough and they seemed to just slow down then going to the second-last and she kept going well to the line. "I was thinking of going down the inner, but I felt them coming back to me a small bit so I just kept it nice and simple and went on the outside and she did it grand." Trainer Byrnes added: "We pulled her out a few times recently. She's a small, light, little thing and today was the first day she got her ground, so I'm delighted with her. "It's the best ground we've got for a long time and she'd a nice light weight on her back, the more fancied ones had big weights. "Davy Russell rode a good few winners for me around here and that's the way he rode them all, dropped them out near the back and came wide, so I told Philip to come wide and come late." Additional reporting by Mark Nunan
