Sean Flanagan removed himself from the ‘cold list’, oddly stretching back to last August, when partnering just his third winner of the season on the Liz Doyle trained Gamede in the opening Naas Racecourse on Facebook Maiden Hurdle at Naas today.

Flanagan, who has consistently been riding approximately 20 winners a season in recent years, has been out in the cold this season but had little difficulty producing Gamede with a confidently timed challenge to eventually defeat Lucky Beguine by a length and a quarter.

Afterwards Doyle reported “we have a connection to a French Bloodstock Agent through my partner Barry Murphy and he (Guy Petit, who is married to Murphy’s sister) advised us to buy Gamede.”

She added “Guy said there would be plenty of improvement in Gamede as he had run on very heavy ground in France but wants good ground. He has small feet and is a light horse but had been working very well. We would have been happy with a first four or five finish today though and he’ll have one more run before going to Punchestown.”

Thomas Weekes