O'Brien and Slevin strike with another promising 4-year-old The bookmakers knew all about it when the four-year-old Fakir D'oudairies won at Cheltenham yesterday for Joseph O'Brien and J J Slevin and they were on the receiving end from the same combination in the Naas opener today with Konitho. The market move for Konitho in the BetVictor Maiden Hurdle was on a lesser scale, but those that backed the French-import from 11/1 into 8/1 were really on point. O'Brien's sister Sarah owns the grey son of Konig Turf, and he impressed with his hurdling through the two miler. He did make a slight mistake at the last but he had the upper hand at that stage, asserting away to beat Lethal Steps by five lengths. O'Brien also supplied the third home, Star Max (mistake last), a length and a half further back. Willie Mullins' Farid was taken out with a temperature. They really came for stable companion Runrized then, forcing the price of the Paul Townend-ridden Authorized gelding from 2/1 into 5/4 favourite. He had every chance in the straight but ultimately could manage only fourth. “He was working well at home but it was a bit of a surprise that he won like that. J J said he jumped fantastic and he felt comfortable all the way. He’s a fine big horse and his three runs in France were a big help today," said the winning trainer.   “Its early days but he’ll have to have an entry in the Triumph.”   “We’ll run as many as we can at Leopardstown, and there is also a Graded race at Fairyhouse so we’ll see how things are after that.” A.E. Lynch, rider of Vitudurum trained by Joseph G. Murphy, reported to the Clerk of Scales that his mount stopped quickly. The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board Veterinary Officer examined Vitudurum, trained by Joseph G. Murphy, at the request of the Stewards and reported the animal to be post race normal. (AM & EM)    
