ODDS-on favourite Ciel De Neige took advantage of what looked an easy opportunity to win his second race over hurdles in the opening conditions event over an extended two miles at Sligo.

However, the 4/7 chance looked in trouble after a slight mistake at the second last left him in third spot rounding the final bend. Switched out by Mark Walsh, the J.P. McManus-owned six-year-old was much better over the last and ran on strongly to defeat the front-running I Am Connect by just under three lengths.

“He’s done it easy enough,” reported Walsh. “There was a bit of traffic turning into the last but I got a gap going to the last and he quickened up well and did it well. I was always happy enough that I’d pick them up.”

Trained by Willie Mullins, Ciel De Neige came into this race rated 140 and is likely to head to some of the big handicap hurdles over the winter now.

Both Mullins and Walsh went on to record doubles on the card, the former with favourite Dads Lad in the two-and-a-half mile John Thomas McNamara Series Maiden Hurdle.

This race was confined to amatuer riders and it was the trainer’s nephew Charlie who rode the Whitegrass Racing Syndicate-owned gelding to victory. The winner made a couple of mistakes and didn’t enjoy the smoothest passage at various stages but was still able to take it up after the last and was driven out to win comfortably.

The winning rider said: “He travelled a bit keen at the start. I sat in behind the leaders and he picked up lovely for me.

“I’d say he’d even want a bit further. He was fine on the ground, he prefers it soft. That was my first ride over hurdles and thanks to Willie for giving me the opportunity.”

Walsh rode his second winner on board the Martin Brassil-trained A Different World who gamely saw off multiple rivals in the second division of the Visit racingtv.com Handicap Hurdle.

Contending for the lead from the drop of the flag, the J.P. McManus-owned six-year-old held off the challenge of first Joan Of Pimlico and then the fast finishing pair Miss Us O and Temptationinmilan late in the final furlong.

Walsh reported that the change in tactics brought about an improvement in form in A Different World.

THE first division of the Visit racingtv.com Handicap Hurdle went to Crackaway, who provided Seamus Fahey with his first winner of the jumps season.

The five-year-old gelding was held up by Kevin Sexton in the early stages but made gradual progress on the final circuit, and seized the initiative when nipping up the inside of Crack On Corrie as they turned for home.

He saw off the intentions of favourite Deo Bellator from here and afterwards, the winning trainer commented: “We schooled him last week on the Curragh and Kevin (Sexton) was there schooling another horse for us. I asked him would he ride this one for us today and he said, after seeing him jump, that he would.

“He’s been running well on the flat and he handled the surface when he ran at Dundalk so that’s an option, but we might look for another one of these over hurdles first.” The winning owner is Daniel Lynch

Previous course form came to the fore in the mares’ handicap hurdle which saw the locally trained Red Ball Of Fire (4/1) wear down the favourite Mullins Cross in the closing stages. Both horses were course-and-distance winners here during the summer.

Hugh Morgan was aboard the winner, who was well off the pace for much of the contest. He battled it out from the final flight with Mullins Cross and appeared to bump the runner-up on the run-in but was well on top at the line for the Sligo Sopranos Syndicate. She’s Commanche ran on nicely to be third. The stewards looked into the closing stages of the race but there were no alterations made to the result. The winner is trained by Mark McNiff who had a 33/1 two-year-old debut winner at Gowran Park earlier in the week.

NOT many trainers had to travel as far as Kildinan, Cork-based Jonathan Sweeney for yesterday’s meeting at Sligo, but a near eight-hour round trip was rewarded when Churchstonewarrior surged clear after the final flight in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden Hurdle.

The T.A. Hegarty-owned six-year-old was always prominent in the extended three-mile, one-furlong contest and began to press the leaders at the fourth last. The 2/1 shot took it up from Mignight It Is after the last and won comfortably thereafter in the hands of Denis O’Regan, with the staying-on Highland Sting getting up for second.

Sweeney didn’t even know if he’d make the trip this morning on account of the ground, which he says needs to be soft for the son of Mahler. The trainer commented: “We were hoping to go to Cork last week but the ground was too quick. He’s a winter ground horse.

“Even yesterday I was worried the ground here mightn’t be soft enough and I spoke to Tracey O’Meara (clerk of the course) and she told me to ring her in the morning. She had it walked at 7:00am and, in fairness to her, she gave me a good description of it and I was happy to travel here then.”

The final contest, the Watch On Racing TV Flat Race, saw another head-to-head between amateur rider rivals Jamie Codd and Patrick Mullins, and it was the former who came out on top with Gordon Elliott’s Minella Crooner (8/13f).

The son of Shantou always raced prominently and took it up turning into the straight. Mullins looked a threat on the Ross O’Sullivan-trained State Of Honor, but the pair had no answer when Minella Crooner picked up for Codd’s urgings, and there was three and a half lengths between them at the line.

The winner is owned by Cornwall-based David Barnard who was in Sligo and also bought Music Slave, the £90,000 top lot at the Goffs UK Autumn Sale at Doncaster with Gordon Elliott and Aidan O’Ryan on Thursday.