GALWAY Hurdle day belonged to Willie Mullins and no one else as the trainer added a further three winners to his big race success and those victories included the Grade 3 Rockshore Novice Chase where Fan De Blues (7/2) came out the right side of a cracking finish.

A patient Paul Townend had the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned gelding nicely placed towards the outer on the downhill run to the last couple of fences. Fan De Blues still had plenty on his plate after the last as he still had to find a way past the free-wheeling favourite Gin On Lime and her stablemate Bold Enough. To his credit though the six-year-old came with a sustained effort against the stand’s side rail and he got to the front in the closing stages for a one-length victory over the market leader.

“I think he was probably fortunate that the ones in front took each other on. When they finished battling he just had a little bit more in the tank. He has lots of experience and had run over fences in France,” remarked Mullins. “He’s a nice horse and we had been disappointed that he hadn’t won for us over fences up until last time. I think that might be the start of it now as sometimes when a horse gets his head in front he gets the habit of it.”

The day kicked off with a one-two for the trainer as Farout (3/1) led home Tax For Max in the Guinness Novice Hurdle for four-year-olds.

This Thurloe Thoroughbreds-owned son of Dark Angel impressed when winning a maiden hurdle at Cork in the first week of the new season and he looked just as good for his return to the fray. Brian Hayes had Farout disputing the lead with Carrarea from the outset but the latter was crying enough when the winner pinged two out. In the straight it was left to the favourite Tax For Max to take up the chase but he could never reel in Farout who galloped out well to prevail by two and three-quarter lengths.

“It was a good performance and the horse did it the hard way. He’s showing big improvement and after that I’d say he’s moving up to graded company,” declared Mullins. “Tax For Max ran well. The way he settled today bodes well for the future and he’s starting to learn.”

This race also saw jockey Ian McCarthy bring down the curtain on his career in the saddle which yielded close to 100 winners. The high-class mare Jennies Jewel and Prince Rudi were among the jockey’s biggest winners and he has already enjoyed success as a point-to-point handler as well as running a flourishing pre-training and breaking business.

Warm up

Patrick Mullins then added to his haul with his father’s M C Muldoon (11/8) in the two-and-a-half-mile Guinness Novice Hurdle. Another Mullins inmate to warm up for Galway with a trip to Royal Ascot, where he was second in the Ascot Stakes, this 131-rated gelding was adding to the maiden hurdle success he recorded at Fairyhouse in February.

The grey loomed up to press the brave front-runner Enniskerry nearing the last and he got on top on the run in to score by half a length. M C Muldoon came in on top of Enniskerry on the run-in but a stewards’ enquiry made no change to the placings.

The winner is owned by Jackie Mullins, David Manasseh and Robert Brown.

“He settled beautifully. He went down to the start very free and Patrick decided to drop in whereas we thought we were going to be in the first two or three the whole way. He ran well at Ascot and I think there could be a nice day on the flat in him,” said Mullins.

JOHN McConnell’s Streets Of Doyen, who was good enough to be placed in the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham in March, made a taking start to his career over fences in the Guinness Open Gate Brewery Beginners Chase.

The 7/2 shot is a thorough stayer so the two-and-three-quarter-mile trip of this race was always going to play to his strengths and when Simon Torrens’ mount surged through on the inside of Bleu Berry to take over the lead on the long run for home, he was always going to take plenty of catching.

Once he got to the front the Caroline Ahearn-owned seven-year-old always gave the impression that he had matters under control although he was quite idle which allowed the chasing Western Run to get to within a neck at the line.

In all this was a very likeable effort from the winner who should develop into a good staying chaser over the coming months.

“He’s a classy horse. Halfway up the run in he did get very idle and he wore cheekpieces over hurdles so it mightn’t be too long before he has them on over fences,” commented Torrens.

Clonburry Bridge, who has held his form very well since moving into handicaps in the spring, provided Philip Dempsey and his son Luke with a winner in the 80-109 rated Arthur Guinness Handicap Hurdle over two miles.

In first-time cheekpieces, the CJ & T Syndicate-owned winner was scoring off a mark that was 11lbs higher than when he struck at Limerick two months previously. The 15/2 chance got home by two and a quarter lengths from the heavily backed 4/1 favourite Brides Hill and did so in a manner which would suggest he could yet progress further.

IN what was the finish of the week, the Denis Hogan-trained and ridden Macgiloney (16/1) somehow pulled victory out of the fire in the Guinness-sponsored handicap hurdle over three miles.

The eight-year-old moved into a staying-on third at the last but still had around half a dozen lengths to find on the favourite, Blackstair Rocco. The Michael Moloney-owned Macgiloney closed in relentlessly though and even though Hogan lost his stick on the run-in, his mount edged out his aforementioned rival on the line to notch up the eighth win of his career.

“He lacks a gear but he makes up for it in heart. I haven’t been riding much since April but I rode him to finish second at Tipperary a few weeks ago and thought that he could be a winner for Galway.”

Another trainer to move on to the two-winner mark for the meeting was Tom Gibney as Mr Saxobeat made a winning start on the track in the Guinness Time Flat Race over two and a quarter miles.

The five-year-old, who was running well in a point-to-point in April only to fall at the second last, was returned a well-supported 5/1 favourite and there was lots to like about the manner in which he travelled through the race for Noel McParlan before pulling just over four lengths clear of Watergrange Jack.

The Ask gelding is owned by the 13-man Drogheda-based Roberto Syndicate.

“We think he’s a very nice horse and we actually bought him off Sean O’Keeffe’s dad. He’s been doing things right at home and we’d have been disappointed if he wasn’t thereabouts but he’s been on the go a good while so he might go out into the field and have a break now,” reported Gibney.