Market drifter Guily Billy put an odds-on defeat at Clonmel behind him with a facile success in the Get Your 2022 Annual Badge At Tramoreraces.ie Maiden Hurdle.

The Cheveley Park Stud-owned grey was 4/9 overnight but was sent off 13/8 having been displaced from favouritism by the reserve Hauturiere Always prominent, the expensive point-to-point recruit asserted before the second-last and was untroubled to beat the 11/8 market leader by 25 lengths.

Winning rider Rachael Blackmore said of the Henry de Bromhead-trained five-year-old: “That was a much better performance and what we were hoping he would be able to do. He kept on strongly up the hill and it’s great to get him off the mark.

“He’s a lovely horse and you would think he'll be going chasing some time in the future. Hopefully he’ll progress now.”

Quotes from Alan Magee