Valerian Bridge went off at 1/2 for his debut in Cork’s bumper, however he was given a serious scare before winning for Willie and Patrick Mullins. Behana hit the front two out and quickly appeared to have the ‘jolly’ in trouble as she wasn’t stopping in the final furlong. Patrick Mullins knuckled down and got vigorous on Valerian Bridge who to his credit fought back and got up approaching the line to win by a length and a quarter.

Behana finished second at 8/1. She was four lengths in front of Bon Chic (12/1).

Patrick Mullins said: “The dam (Screaming Witness) was my first ride. Myself and Emmet (Mullins) decided to keep the mare and this is her second foal. I thought he would win a bit easier, but I was probably a bit over confident early in the straight on him.

“I’d be disappointed if he wasn’t better than this and he’s a good ground horse. Hopefully he’ll win plenty of races on good ground.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes