Winning rider Alan Crowe© Photo Healy Racing
Thundering Steel out battled market leaders Romeo Is Bleeding (5/2fav) and Cool Klan (4/1) in the closing stages, as he took the Tramore Racecourse Supporters Club Maiden Hurdle for Paul Flynn and Alan Crowe.
The five-year-old son of Beneficial had shown little before today, finishing well beaten on his first two efforts over hurdles.
Encountering good ground for the first time since his debut, he tracked the leaders for much of the contest before making headway into third at the second last.
He was ridden to lead at the last and he kept on best under pressure from there to see off Romeo Is Bleeding, under Brian O’Connell for Eoin Doyle, by three parts of a length while Cool Klan was a head back in third under Paul Townend for David O’Brien.
Flynn quipped in the aftermath: "I should have rode him! (he returned to the saddle at Clonmel last week)."
He added; "The ground made a big difference, he wasn’t getting home on the soft ground. He was just very weak. He was as weak as a dishcloth.
"He is as good I one as I’ve had and it mightn't look like that today but he will come on. You probably won’t see him again for a while, we’ll leave him out in the field now."
The winner was returned at 9/1 however he was reportedly as big as 50/1 this morning.
