Sulwaan’s late surge too much for his rivals

ALTHOUGH virtually ignored in the market, the Ruby Walsh ridden Sulwaan made a successful debut for Dermot Weld when proving too strong for Tavern Times and Princeton Plains in the Irish Stallion Farms Novice Hurdle in Sligo yesterday.

Settled at the back of the four-runner field, Sulwaan, a dual-winner in Emgland for Mark Johnston and now owned by Dr. Ronan Lambe, looked unlikely to trouble the leaders at the second last flight but came storming through on the run-in to foil odds-on favourite Tavern Times by a half-length, with little more than three lengths covering the field at the line.

Ruby Walsh commented: “He’s a fair little horse and it was a good effort for his first run over hurdles, beating two solid older horses. I think the plan is to go for the four-year-old race on the first day of Galway, when he’ll have a 4lb. penalty for this win.”