Review listowel 5th Jun Ruby Walsh made his visit to Listowel for the mixed meeting pay off with an easy victory on House Rules in the closing John B Keane Maiden Hurdle.Henry de Bromhead's bumper winner, second at Punchestown in mid-May, was sent off the 8-15 favourite and had an untroubled passage once he took over from Daydah jumping the fourth-last flight.The five-year-old was chased for the rest of the way by Khayar but never looked likely to be caught, and he drew clear after the last to score by 12 lengths.The Last Don took the Bryan MacMahon (QR) Race to win for the first time since completing a hat-trick in the autumn of 2009 when trained in England.Now with Mick Halford, the five-year-old (5-1) was sent straight to the front under a sedate pace by his owner Paul McMahon and had plenty left in the closing stages to hold Pires by two and a half lengths.Liberty's Gift stepped up from his debut second on the Dundalk all-weather in April to take the www.listowelraces.ie Median Auction Maiden in the hands of Padraig Beggy.The Paul Flynn-trained three-year-old (11-1) was always prominent and was rousted along to lead inside the final furlong before holding McMonagle's late run by a head.Jessie Harrington's lightly raced Royal Blue Star (11-2) looks to be on the upgrade judged on her emphatic victory in the George Fitzmaurice Handicap.A winner at Navan last time, she was put up 6lb but it had no impact as she led all the way under Shane Foley and stretched clear to score by two lengths.There was a desperately tight finish to the Jackie & Gene Handicap, in which Ben Curtis forced the John Larkin-trained Tres Froide (7-1) past pacesetting Arakango by a short head on the line.John Cullen was allowed a big lead on Mr Sykes (25-1) in the Croom House Stud Maiden Hurdle and though he was returning from a two-year lay-off, the Mark Fagan-trained gelding kept going to beat Rebel Fitz by five and a half lengths.
