Ravished on-a-roll in National

In-form Paul Townend deputised successfully for Bryan Cooper on the Mouse Morris-trained Ravished in the €50,000 Midlands National at Kilbeggan last night.

Cooper sustained a suspected dislocated thumb in an earlier fall, giving Townend the opportunity on hat-trick seeking Ravished, one of four runners for Gigginstown House Stud in the highlight of the midland track’s season, a race which Michael O’Leary’s stud won with Night Busker back in 2004 and which it sponsored for a number of years.

Another Gigginstown runner — Akorakor — prominent throughout, had been joined by the eventual winner when blundering and unseating Kevin Sexton at the final fence, leaving Ravished to beat Rohan’s Pride by four and three-quarter lengths.