Helly hunts down Navan prize

Hellyhunter landed a last-gasp victory over Acapulco in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Novice Hurdle at Navan today.

Acapulco had a narrow advantage on the run-in after jumping the last but idled close home despite Andrew McNamara's urgings, and Barry Geraghty got more out of Hellyhunter to land the spoils.

The 6-1 winner, trained by Davy FitzGerald, got the verdict by a head.

Bannville made the running until the third-last where he quickly faded, leaving Hellyhunter and Acapulco to fight out a nail-biting finish.

"I was worried about the ground as he's a soft to heavy horse and I very nearly took him out as he wants genuinely soft ground," said Fitzgerald.

"I wasn't surprised. We weren't making enough use of him in his maiden hurdles.

"He'll go chasing and hopefully make up into a Moriarty horse like Mister Top Notch. I think a lot of him. He's a proper horse."