Castle is king at Killarney

Conna Castle followed up his second to Straw Bear with a bloodless success over hurdles at Killarney and will be now be aimed at the Irish Independent Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival next March.

Jimmy Mangan’s seven-year-old was 13 lengths behind Straw Bear at Aintree last month and confirmed himself a smart prospect when coasting home as the 1-5 favourite in the Laurels Bar Hurdle.