Promising apprentice Conor Hoban hit the big time when excelling on Hujaylea in the Irish Cambridgeshire at the Curragh today.

The 7lb claimer produced the gelding with a well-timed effort to lead inside the final furlong in the €100,000 event.

Michael Halford 's charge kept on well in the closing stages to post a length-and-a-quarter success over English raider Kyllachy Star

"That's great. We discovered he had a little back issue and gave him a little break and fixed it up," Halford revealed about the winner.

"That's the only reason I can see he ran well today. He's very consistent and got a very cool ride.

"Conor is really starting to ride well and is good value for his 7lb claim. He kept his head when he got boxed in and waited for the gap.

"With Shane (Foley) sidelined now we'll be using him more and pushing him on a bit.

"This horse started off with a mark of 48 and it's great to win a prize like this with him."