Princess is the punters' darling Favourite backers got back on track after a couple of reverses in the opening two races at Cork as One Cool Princess landed the odds in the CITSU Maiden Hurdle. Brian O'Connell elected to make the running on the 8/11 shot in this 2m4f event, and the seven-year-old mare looked set for an easy success when in command early in the straight. However the distress signals went up after the last, and she needed to be driven right out in the closing stages to hold on by three quarters of a length from Cairde Aris. The pair drew a yawning 54 lengths clear of Hawkers Son, with four of the nine runners pulled up in the testing conditions. The daughter of Old Vic is owned by Mullingar native John McGivney, and trainer John Joe Walsh said, "She won her point to point in Horse And Jockey and won her bumper here last year and will go chasing next year as she had the pedigree to be a chaser. "We'll see where she'll go next but she could have one more run - we'll hope to get another soft race!" (TW & AM)
