Battling Villez lands National spoils

PAUL NICHOLLS has made no secret of his desire to be champion trainer in Ireland this season and his second shot of the campaign hit the bullseye at Limerick yesterday when Dear Villez landed the ladbrokes.com Munster National.

Nicholls already has the lucrative Galway Plate neatly tucked away, courtesy of Oslot, so his lofty ambition may not be as fanciful as many had originally thought.

Ruby Walsh gave the six-year-old a smashing drive, rounding of an extraordinary weekend in some style.