Lone Star and Joseph O'Brien take the mile maiden© Photo Healy Racing
Aidan O'Brien is beginning to gear up for another major assault on Flat racing's big summer prizes but in the meantime he picked up a little something along the way when Lone Star won the Champions Restaurant At Dundalk Stadium Maiden.
Sent off the 6-5 second favourite, the son of Sea The Stars raced in second place for most of the mile trip under Joseph O'Brien as outsider Scooping took them along.
Lone Star was asked to go and win his race approaching the furlong pole and didn't take long to assert before putting daylight between himself and his rivals to score by two and a quarter lengths from the running-on Bobby's Heart
O'Brien jnr also won when he drove Charlie Swan's Hareth (2-1) clear by four and three-quarter lengths in the Dundalk Driving Tourism Forward 28th February Maiden.
Another to land a brace was Conor Hoban, whose double was initiated by the Mick Halford-trained Political Policy in the Dundalk Stadium Racecourse Of The Year Maiden.
Soon in front, the 6-4 favourite was strongly challenged by Acting Talent through the final furlong and may just have been headed at one stage, but he battled on bravely and got the verdict by a short head.
It was also close for Hoban on Andy Oliver's 11-4 chance Fight U For It who ended a sequence of three seconds by winning the Dundalk Stadium Light Up Your Night Handicap, getting up in the last 50 yards to beat Master Of Time by half a length.
Gary Phillips drove the Garvan Donnelly-trained Equation Of Time (3-1 joint-favourite) down the outside to get on top in the final furlong for a length-and-a-half victory in the Crowne Plaza Hotel Race & Stay Handicap.
The Garristown handler doubled up when Ningaloo Reef (5-1) responded well to Kevin Manning's urgings to catch long-time leader Timjoe and then hold Shake The Bucket by half a length in the Crowne Plaza Leading Jockey & Trainer Championship Handicap.
