Leah Claire belatedly opens her account over hurdles

A FIVE-TIME winner on the flat, Leah Claire belatedly opened her account over hurdles when turning over odds-on favourite Ceol Rua in the Saltees Island Mares Novice Hurdle in Wexford yesterday.

Trainer Matthieu Paulssiere paid tribute to the “lovely ride” given to Frank McNulty’s mare by 7lb. claimer Ben Dalton, a native of nearby New Ross, en route to a three lengths win, Palussiere declaring: “She deserved it - she never lets me down. Ben kicked at the right time and her jumping helped. We will try to win one of the bigger handicaps during the winter, maybe at Christmas or early in the New Year.”

Ceol Rua’s rider Emmet Mullins, also out of luck on that mare’s stable-companion Sin Palo in the opener, still took the riding honours, completing a fine double on the Noel Meade-trained Tackmaster and Baby Whizz, trained by his uncle Tom Mullins.