In advance of the Dundalk Stadium Racecourse Of The Year Handicap, one might have envisaged the five furlong event throwing up an authoritative winner. As a 7/1 chance, fourth in the betting, Sylvan Mist may not have been the name of everyone's lips but the daughter of Footstepsinthesand took the prize in style.

Waited with by Pat Smullen, she angled to the outside from the two furlong pole. Smullen always looked confident on the four-year-old thereafter and she led inside the last to beat the front-running Queen Grace by three parts of a length.

Smullen reported of the Eddie Lynam owned and trained Sylvan Mist: "She has a bit of a habit of pulling up when she gets to the front and we were confident that the race would set up for her. It did and they went fast.

"Eddie said to ride her with a bit of confidence and I think five furlongs around a bend is the key to her.

"Hopefully she should be able to win another one." (AM & EM)