THE start of the flat (on turf) creeps up on you a bit, coming, as it does these days, just over a week after the Cheltenham Festival has finished and long before you have assimilated all the implications thereof. And before Fairyhouse, before Aintree, before Punchestown.

That said, there was a lot to be gleaned from Tote Irish Lincoln day at Naas last Sunday. Seven races, six individual winning trainers (Ger Lyons had a double), five individual winning riders (Chris Hayes and Colin Keane both had doubles).

Pride Of Pimlico was impressive in winning the opening juveniles’ maiden. The Brendan Duke-trained colt made just about all the running under a well-judged ride from Ronan Whelan.

He kicked from the front on the run to the furlong pole, and he kept on well all the way to the line to spring a 20/1 shock, with another 20/1 shot Engles Rock running on well to take second place and complete a 370/1 exacta.

JACK BACK

It was good to see Medicine Jack back with a win in the six-furlong handicap. Winner of the Group 2 Railway Stakes two years ago as a juvenile, Sean Jones’ horse raced just once last year as a three-year-old, he finished fifth behind Harry Angel in the Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock at the end of May.

Gelded in the interim and dropped to a handicap rating of 94, the Ger Lyons-trained gelding was a little free through the very early stages of Sunday’s race, but he was quickly into a nice racing rhythm for Colin Keane in the front rank.

He travelled well to the two-furlong pole, and he battled back well after he had been headed on the far side by Gymkhana – who was a stable companion of the winner when he won the same race last year – to get up and win by a head from Smash Williams, himself a Group 3 winner as a juvenile, who also finished well.

The handicapper has raised Medicine Jack by just 4lbs for that win to a mark of 98, which is 10lbs lower than his peak rating as a juvenile.

He would be interesting in a valuable handicap now off that mark, that mark could still under-rate him, and he could make his mark in pattern company.

Making Light only got home by a half a length under Leigh Roche in the Group 3 Lodge Park Stud Park Express Stakes, but the Dermot Weld-trained filly travelled like the most likely winner from a long way out and she probably won with a fair bit more in hand than the bare winning margin.

On The Go Again came under pressure in the Tote Irish Lincolnshire earlier than several of his rivals, but the Mulvanys’ horse (owned and bred by Larry, trained by the owner’s son Michael, led up by the owner’s grandson Larry) stayed on strongly for Gary Carroll to win well in a race that could throw up a few future winners.

It is a race and a day that could be well worth reviewing a couple of times.