There was yet another close finish in the last at Killarney as Royal Admiral just held the late thrust of Danehill Quest by a head in the Dorothy Henggeler Memorial handicap. Tom Madden, riding his second winner of the evening, got a great run through on the inner to lead on Ado McGuinness’s five-year-old early in the straight, but his mount needed the line to come as the runner-up rattled home. It was a further two and a half lengths back to the reserve Slainte And Thanks in third place.

Four of the seven races on the card had winning margins of a head or less.

The winning trainer remarked afterwards:"There is a big Kerry connection in the Shamrock Thoroughbreds as Donie Sheehan's (pharmacist from Killarney) son Ciaran is a doctor in Dublin and is a big part of the syndicate. He isn't here tonight but there are plenty from the family here and it's great.

"We bought a lot of horses at the Newmarket Sales last week and the syndicate is up and running and doing great. They have eight or nine horses in training with me and it's a huge part of my yard and they've done very well.

"Different members come into different horses and Stephen (Thorne) does a great job with it and he is a great asset to the yard."

"He got a serious ride, the draw was a big factor but it was brilliant.

"The boys want to go to Galway and he'll run in the 1m4f handicap on the Ladies Day next. He'll be going hurdling after Galway."

Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes