Gordon Elliott’s chances of winning a first Irish Trainers’ Championship were improved significantly in the minutes surrounding the running of the Grade 3 Limestone Lad Hurdle at Naas today, which was won easily by the trainer’s Sutton Place

Sutton Place. a son of Mahler and ridden by Mark Walsh, moved strongly into contention from the second last and went past Supasandae at the final flight. He stretched his lead on the run-in and eventually scored an impressive seven and a half lengths win over that rival.

As the race was run, news of Faugheen’s enforced absence from tomorrow’s Irish Champion Hurdle emerged, with Sutton Place’s win edging Elliott E20,000 further ahead of Faugheen’s trainer Willie Mullins at the head of the Trainers’ Championship.

After the race, an impressed Elliott stated “I’d say he’s a fair one and you’d like the way he has galloped to the line. He has improved a good bit from last year and has got stronger and he’s a horse for jumping fences down the road.

“There’s no chance he’ll run in the Newbury race as he’s a horse for next year; I’ll talk to Frank (Berry, owner J.P. McManus’ racing manager). We might keep him at home (instead of going to Cheltenham) but we’ll talk to the lads and see.”

By Tom Weekes