< Northern Rocked found beach racing entirely to his liking with a convincing first career victory in the Gilna's Cottage Inn Maiden on the Laytown sand track.

Dermot Weld's four-year-old, sent off the 5-2 favourite having been a bridesmaid four times in nine starts, looked to have a bit to do when Prayer Boat pinched a handy lead going into the final furlong.

But Pat Smullen delivered his mount with a perfectly timed run and Northern Rocked got on top 50 yards from the finish to win cosily by a length and a quarter.

David Marnane supplied two of the runners in the ladbrokes.com (QR) Handicap and they had the finish to themselves through the closing stages.< He's Got Rhythm (9-2) swept into the lead a furlong and a half out and though favourite Qadar posed a big threat racing alone down the centre of the track, Robbie McNamara kept him going to score by two and a half lengths.

There was a thrilling finish to the www.angloprinters.ie Claiming Race and the prize went to the Ger Lyons-trained Cosmic Breeze (6-1) in the hands of Keagan Latham.< Full Title led most of the way and was still going well entering the final quarter-mile, but Cosmic Breeze was never far away and edged to a short-head victory close home, with stablemate Romeo's On Fire a close third.

Lyons completed a double when Dunne Grand (11-4 joint-favourite), always travelling nicely near the lead for Andy Duff, cleared away to take the Hibernia Steel (QR) Race by four and a half lengths.

Rain greeted the runners for the opening Balmarino Handicap but it did nothing to deter Hello Man (10-1), who gave Shane Duffy his first winner as a trainer as he stretched clear to score by two and a half lengths under Gary Carroll.

Plenty held a chance a furlong out in the O'Neills Sports Handicap, but Seamie Heffernan scythed them down on Michael Browne's Under Review (20-1) to win by three-quarters of a length.