SEAN O’Keeffe and owner/trainer Edward Cawley caused a shock in the Jack Lee & Patricia Lee Murphy Memorial Handicap Hurdle when Any Day Now obliged at 20/1.

The Scorpion gelding was always prominent and went clear going best after two out, he was ridden and had his lead reduced towards the finish, but was always doing enough to hold the favourite Breagagh.

Sean O’Keeffe said: “It was great. When he missed one, he was going sweet in between the hurdles and was soon back on the bridle, and he was enjoying it that he was going that bit better than the rest of them.”

“I’m delighted for Eddie. He has plenty of horses and puts a lot into the game. He’s from Enniscrone so this is a local winner for him.

Cawley added: “He had run well here a year ago but had never repeated that. I put blinkers on him the last day at Galway and Jordan Gainford rode him. He said to drop him back to two and a half miles on soft ground. Jordan’s in Cheltenham today so he’ll be kicking himself to have missed a winner. Very few stay here in Sligo because it’s such a tough track but we knew he’d get home over this trip.”

Final strides

The 12-year-old Drumcliff with Aine O’Connor doing the steering got up in the final few strides to record his fifth win in the SF Engineering Handicap Hurdle over the extended three miles and a furlong.

Mustameet Secret and Gavin Brouder had looked to have done enough, leading half-way up the run-in but Padraig Roche’s charge stuck to his task well in the second J.P. McManus colours.

Aine O’Connor said: “It’s great to win again on him. He’s not in love with soft ground but he was so well that we couldn’t not run him.

“I won a point-to-point on him earlier this year where he seemed to stay and loved that, and he’s the kind of horse that you can’t boss him too much, so I let him do his own thing.

“Thanks to Mr McManus and Frank Berry for letting me ride him and all credit to Paudie.”

The grey Will Wilde ran green but had too many guns for the Elliott and Gigginstown favourite Bleu De Vassy in the finale the Solar Generation INH Flat Race over a mile and two.

Going clear before the final bend, the Liz Doyle-trained son of Martaline was kept up to his work by John Gleeson and ran out a convincing winner on his second start. “He’s a beautiful big galloping horse. John (Gleeson) said there was going to be no pace, so I said you’re on a big galloping horse with a big stride, so on you go and keep it simple,” Doyle said of the Wilde Partnerships’ gelding.

FIRM Footing (5/1) showed good resolution for Jack Kennedy to win the opening Joseph (Jopie) Scanlon Memorial Hurdle, overcoming an error at the second last.

Three horses jumped the last in line, Firm Footings, the odds-on favourite Horantzau D’airy (4/9) and Aime Desjy, with the Mullins favourite just shading the advantage. But in the final half furlong, Firm Footings got on top for a length and a quarter win for Caldwell Construction Ltd.

Jack Kennedy said: “He did well to recover from the mistake at the second last, I thought that was the beating of him but he dug deep and knuckled down when I got stuck into him and galloped to the line.

“He’s going to come on from it as well. He seems to have improved and strengthened up a bit. He was always going to be a nice horse but he’s probably going to be a bit better this year.”

Elliott added: “Two miles is as short as he wants but he’s a grand horse and he toughed it out well. We’ll probably go chasing with him.”

Will Do (2/5 favourite) went clear after the second last in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden Hurdle over three miles and a furlong and kept on well to provide an Elliott/Kennedy double, in the Gigginstown House colours.

Gordon Elliott said: “He jumped great apart from missing one down the back the last time. I was delighted to see something going on after a few hurdles just to give him a bit of a lead.

“He’s a nice horse and he’ll probably be better suited by a more galloping track. He’s a chaser down the road. He’ll probably step up to listed or graded company now.”

Fortune earns his favours

CHARMING Fortune (9/2) continued a good day for trainer Gavin Cromwell when running out the three and a half-length winner of the two and a half mile John Thomas McNamara Series (Q.R.) Maiden Hurdle.

Kalanisi Flash jumped the last in front but Joey Dunne was in his slipstream on the winner and he stayed on well to go clear to win for the Mick & Molly Syndicate.

Joey Dunne said: “He stayed on really well. I didn’t think he would because he was so keen early, he never spat it out the whole race.

“He was a bit disappointing in Downpatrick the last day where he just didn’t settle and maybe he didn’t like the hill there, but today he did his best work at the end.

“Gavin said to drop him in a bit, he was keener than I expected early on. At home his work is really good and I think he can go on from this.”

Headway

In the Callan Tansey Mares Handicap Hurdle over two miles one and a half furlongs, Sayitfirst looked home and hosed after she made headway to lead three out and jumped the last four lengths clear.

However, the pack were closing on the run-in and it was Liam Cusack’s 10/3 favourite Getabelle who got there in time under Brian Hayes to win in the colours of John T Murray.

Liam Cusack said: “Nothing seemed to be going right early on. She made a few mistakes, probably because she wasn’t travelling, and I was wondering if maybe the trip was a bit short for her, but there’s only one place to be in front and that’s the winning post.

“I thought Brian gave her a brilliant ride. We might put her away until the spring, she probably doesn’t want deep winter ground.”