Review listowel 31st May

< Wicklow Brave remained on target for Royal Ascot as he won with any amount in hand in the Bryan MacMahon (QR) Race at Listowel.

Successful in the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and susbsequently on his Flat debut at Gowran, Willie Mullins' charge was sent off the 1-5 favourite to make it a treble and gave his supporters no cause for alarm at any stage.

Patrick Mullins was always travelling sweetly on the six-year-old as Cardinal Palace took them along and he was clearly going best as they turned towards the straight, where Wicklow Brave coasted ahead and eased away to score by five and a half lengths.

Things didn't work out for the Mullins team when favourite Laviniad couldn't catch Gary Phillips on the Victor Clifford-trained runaway leader Hurricane Twister (33-1) in the Follow Listowel Races On Facebook Handicap, going down by half a length.

Aidan O'Brien introduced a potentially smart juvenile in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden as Deauville ran out a ready winner.

The son of Galileo, sent off the 6-4 favourite, was always handy under Seamie Heffernan and led on the home turn before running on strongly down the straight to beat off the challenge of the experienced Hoppala by two lengths.

Dermot Weld's 6-5 favourite Sight Hound got off the mark after two seconds with an emphatic success in the www.listowelraces.ie Median Auction Maiden, leading a furlong and a half out under Pat Smullen and quickly asserting to score by two lengths.

Jim Bolger looked to have found a fine opportunity for Knocknagree in the Croom House Stud EBF Fillies Maiden and so it proved, Kevin Manning keeping the evens favourite up to her work to win by three and a quarter lengths after leading for most of the way.< Ecoeye (16-1) didn't have the easiest of passages but won cosily in the end under Connor King in the George Fitzmaurice Handicap, while Fran Berry led all the way and kept Bay Hill (6-1) going to take the St John's Literary Centre Handicap.